Double Podium For Irwin At Brands Hatch

Be Wiser Ducati Racing Team rider Glenn Irwin secured his best points haul of the season so far when he claimed a superb double podium at round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch in Kent.

Aboard the FUCHS Silkolene sponsored, factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R for Paul Bird’s Lake District-based team, 28-year-old Glenn from Carrickfergus in County Antrim stormed to second place from pole position in the opening 20 lap race before repeating the feat in the second of the day’s races to move up to third in the title race.

Irwin battled hard in both races where he fended off series leader Leon Haslam’s Kawasaki but try as he might, he couldn’t get the better of Australian Josh Brookes aboard a Yamaha who took a double victory but despite his frustration at not securing his first victory of the season, the Ulsterman racked up important Podium Points in his quest for the title.

Meanwhile younger brother Andrew, still deputising for the injured reigning champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, continued his meteoric rise in the Superbike ranks and started the opening race from eighth on the grid. The 23 year old didn’t make the best of starts and dropped down the order initially before bouncing back to claim ninth at the flag.

Starting 11th on the grid for race two, a better start saw him running inside the top ten again and was hopeful of his best result of the season but as the race wore on, he slipped down as he lost some power due to a technical issue, but he still brought the bike home to a creditable 12th place to maintain his 18th place in the standings.

Glenn Irwin: “The first race was a bit of a game between Josh and me with both of us sitting back and not showing our true pace. I then got my head down and got into a nice rhythm and I came close to getting by Josh on the final lap, but I wasn’t quite close enough, so second place was a good result to start the day. The second race was a fair bit faster and it was important for me to have a bigger gap to the riders behind me. I had a bit of an issue early on when I hit a false neutral and Josh was stronger than me in some areas whilst I was stronger than him in others. I really tried hard as seen in the lap times and whilst you always want to win, I’m pleased to get my first double BSB podium today. Full credit to Josh and to my team so roll on the next round.”

Andrew Irwin: “This weekend’s probably been better than what it looks on the results sheets but overall I’m happy with my results. I’m learning all the time in terms of having two races in a day and having longer races than what I’m used to. My one lap pace is really good, but I need to work on my consistency across the full race distance and manage the tyres a bit better as I made a couple of mistakes today. I can’t be disappointed though and the team are doing a great job whilst the Be Wiser Ducati is amazing to ride so I’m already looking forward to Thruxton.”

Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “It’s been a good weekend for the riders and collectively as a team who have worked well throughout the three days. With pole position and two second place finishes, Glenn has ridden superbly all weekend and with a strong haul of points, he’s firmly cemented himself in the top six of the championship. Andrew has also had a solid weekend and if it hadn’t been for the exhaust issue in race two, he’d have come away with two top ten finishes. He can be happy with his performance though, so we can look ahead to the next round at Thruxton in a good frame of mind.”

Bennetts British Superbike Championship race one (20 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)
3 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
4 Jake Dixon (Kawasaki)
5 Christian Iddon (BMW)
6 Peter Hickman (BMW)
9 Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (20 laps)
1 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
2 Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)
3 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
4 Jake Dixon (Kawasaki)
5 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
6 Christian Iddon (BMW)
12 Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)
 
Bennetts British Superbike Championship Points (after six rounds)
1 Haslam 242pts
2 Dixon 162
3 Glenn Irwin 145
4 Brookes 130
5 Ray 115
6 Buchan 111
7 Byrne 98
18 Andrew Irwin 30