April 9, 2023

Victory For Irwin As Bridewell On Silverstone Podium Again

The BeerMonster Ducati team’s superb start to the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship continued at Silverstone today with Glenn Irwin giving Paul Bird’s team their first win of the campaign in the final race, which followed on from his third place earlier in the day.

Teammate Tommy Bridewell added to the celebrations with second and third place finishes in the two races to add to his podium of yesterday meaning the duo now sit in second and third overall in the early season standings.
 
Lap times from the previous day’s race meant the duo started the first 30-lap race from second and seventh respectively but whilst Tommy consolidated second on the opening lap, Glenn dropped back to 12th which gave him plenty of work to do. At the head of the field, it soon developed into a similar situation to yesterday’s race and for much of the race, Tommy ran in second place whilst Glenn continued to work his way forward and by half race distance, he was up to fifth.

With five laps to go, Tommy was still running in second but right in the wheel tracks of race leader Josh Brookes and Glenn had moved into third. However, everyone was denied a grandstand finish when the red flag came out due to an incident with three laps to go but, nevertheless, it gave the Penrith-based team their first double podium of the season, and first since 2021.
 
Temperatures were a bit cooler later in the day and Bridewell had more work to do this time as he started from ninth on the grid which was where he remained for the early laps. Glenn, however, slotted into sixth and by one third race distance, he was beginning to look threatening. The Ulsterman continually moved forward and after taking second place on lap 15, he hit the front for the first time three laps later. From there, he was never headed and although it remained close, he duly took his first win of the season.
 
Bridewell, meanwhile, found it hard to gain places initially and was still in eighth place at half race distance but from there on in, he was able to make passes stick although it wasn’t until there were three laps remaining that he moved into the top three. He didn’t quite have enough to overhaul Brookes but finished in a strong third to make it three podiums from the first three races of the season.
 
Tommy Bridewell: “First and foremost, it’s been a great start to the season and to get three podiums for the team first time out, and at one of my bogey circuits, is full credit to them. I got caught up with Kyle Ryde in the first race and the Yamahas have always been good in the last sector which enabled him to continually make a move at turn one. I had to keep coming back on him as I could see Josh had opened a slight gap. With four to five laps to go, I knew it was time to go but whilst it would have been tough to get by him, the red flag brought the race to an early end. The final race was tough due to starting from ninth and I perhaps underestimated how hard it was going to be, but I got up to third, so it’s been a great start to my time at BeerMonster Ducati.”
 
Glenn Irwin: “Things didn’t go to plan at the start of either race today with distinctly average starts, especially in the first race, and I gave myself a lot of work to do but the boys worked hard to give me a great package and I was able to come through. We were able to look at Tommy’s settings from yesterday and translated some of that onto our bike but both races were tough as it was hard to manage the tyre whilst trying to make as many passes as what I did. It was a bit cooler in the final race and there wasn’t much tyre left at the end, but we were all in the same boat, so I got the job done. We know there are still areas where we can improve and there’s plenty for us to learn with the F23 BeerMonster Ducati, but it’s been a great start so full credit to the team and also to Tommy.”
 
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “There’s a massive sense of relief to get round one under our belts and out the way! We were looking a bit thin on the ground three to four weeks ago, but both riders stayed positive and rode way above our expectations so to come away with a win and four podiums with the F23 Ducati V4R for our new sponsors BeerMonster is simply superb. It’s been a fantastic effort by every single member of the team and whilst we know there’ll be challenges ahead, this gives us a tremendous platform to build on.”
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (27 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (BMW)
2 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
3 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
4 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
5 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)
6 Leon Haslam (BMW)
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three (30 laps)
1 Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
2 Josh Brookes (BMW)
3 Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
4 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)
5 Danny Kent (Honda)
6 Leon Haslam (BMW)
 
Championship points (after three races)
1 Brookes 48
2 Bridewell 46
3 Irwin 43
4 Ryde 39
5 O’Halloran 35
6 Haslam 30
 
Images courtesy of Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Tommy Bridewell (46) in action at Silverstone.

IRWIN AND HAGER PBM DUCATI READY FOR DONINGTON PARK TEST

April 17, 2025
THE Hager PBM Ducati team and rider Glenn Irwin head to Donington Park this week for the second Bennetts British Superbike Championship R&G Official Test. After a strong run at Circuito de Navarra earlier this month, the team is looking forward to getting back on track in the UK, as the countdown to the start the 2025 season continues.  The iconic Donington Park will play host to the second pre-season test on Good Friday and Saturday, before the class of 2025 heads to Oulton Park next Wednesday and Thursday, April 23 and 24, for the final test before the season begins over the May Bank Holiday weekend. The team is looking to build on the success of the Navarra test, where Irwin was consistently quick, setting the pace on the first day before topping the timesheets at the end of the event with a best lap of 1min 44:527s. But keen not to get caught up focusing on lap times yet, Irwin is more concerned about getting through as much work as possible during the two days and making sure the important boxes are ticked. Glenn Irwin: “We’re all looking forward to it. At Navarra, it was important we worked through a number of things which are different this year and it was a great test – but it’s important that we don’t get complacent. “At Donington we’ve more new items to try and we’ve got a list of work to get through, which will be our priority. Once we’ve done all that and have a good feeling, I think we can show up well on the timesheets, but more so in race rhythm than in one-off fast laps. “At Navarra, we found areas where I was weak last year but not this year so we were able to use this as a reference. At Donington, we know the track well and have an idea of where we need to be but for me it’s about continuing to evaluate what we have and understanding the feeling of everything rather than get too hung up on what the timesheet says. If it feels good and we’re good, we’re happy!” Jordan Bird, Team Co-owner: The whole Hager PBM Ducati team is looking forward to being back on home soil for the first time this year. Navarra was a really productive test for us so the team and Glenn are heading into our UK testing program in great spirits! “We are looking forward to seeing plenty of BSB fans trackside at Donington Park. Let’s hope the sun is shining for us!”

SUCCESSFUL OPENING TEST AS IRWIN AND HAGER PBM DUCATI TOP NAVARRA TIMESHEETS

April 8, 2025
THE Hager PBM Ducati team is heading home from the first official Bennetts British Superbike test of the year feeling confident about the season ahead following a strong two days on track in Spain. The team and rider Glenn Irwin joined the class of 2025 at the first of the R&G Official BSB tests at Circuito de Navarra in Northern Spain, ending the event fastest overall, with a best lap of 1min 44.537secs. The team used the two days on track to work on a number of areas, with a particular focus on a new, updated lower seat unit and the new 2025 Pirelli tyre. And despite not putting any pressure on themselves to chase lap times, Irwin still clocked the best lap of the event, sticking in his best lap time during in Monday morning’s session to top the overall timesheets. Glenn Irwin: “We came to Navarra with the objective of just working with the guys again which has been fun. The layout here has improved a lot, it’s a really, really good track now, hopefully we can return. “We had quite a lot of things to try, my Ducati from last year to this is a very different bike but it’s been enjoyable to ride, I feel really comfortable on the bike. “We ended the test fastest which isn’t so important, but we were low into the’45s with 20-plus laps on the tyres every time we exited the pits. No new tyres this afternoon and lots of really good race pace. “The guys adapted the bike to the new tyre and I adapted my riding style a little bit and we’ve had a great, enjoyable couple of days. Roll on Donington!” Frank Bird, Team Co-owner: “It’s mega to finally get the 2025 season underway - it sounds a little bit cliched but it’s been a really long winter! There’s been a lot of hard work and stress in the build up but it’s good to finally get to a track and put all the hard work to the test. “A big thanks to the boys and of course thanks to all our sponsors. It’s been a really productive three days, I like to think we’ve ticked off all the boxes that we had before coming to the test so hats off to the whole team. “Everything ran smoothly, it’s like we’ve never been away but it’s great to finally get going and to be fastest on day one and fastest overall at the end. It seemed to come quite easily so we’re all looking forward to the next couple of tests.”  The team will now head home to the UK and the workshop for some further work, before the next R&G Official Test at Donington Park on April 18 and 19.
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