The BeerMonster Ducati team celebrated an emotionally charged treble victory at Oulton Park at an intense opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown meaning that just 0.5 point separates Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell ahead of the penultimate round at Donington Park.
Irwin had kicked off the weekend with a victory in yesterday’s BikeSocial Sprint Race, dedicating the win to Team Owner Paul Bird who sadly passed away earlier this month, as the BeerMonster Ducati teammates fight to secure PBM’s ninth title at Brands Hatch in October.
In a dramatic second race of the weekend, Irwin was awarded the victory after his BeerMonster Ducati teammate was penalised for unsafe conduct under the Safety Car, dropping him to sixth place.
The pair had been duelling during the race, with the pair trading places for the lead. Bridewell held the advantage until Storm Stacey crashed out and the BMW Safety Car was deployed.
On the restart, Bridewell concertinaed the pack, forcing several riders to take evasive action to avoid crashing and he was issued a long lap penalty for unsafe conduct under the Safety Car.
Bridewell crossed the line just ahead of Irwin, but his time penalty dropped him to sixth place in the final result. The penalty promoted Lee Jackson into second place as he claimed his second podium finish of the weekend just ahead of Kyle Ryde on the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha.
In race three, Bridewell fought to claim the final race win of the weekend, holding off Irwin who claimed second place ahead of Jackson. Irwin’s strong performance has seen him surge ahead in the standings, having overhauled Bridewell’s 14.5-point advantage before the Showdown with six races now remaining to decide the 2023 champion.
The Oulton Park weekend featured five different riders on the podium representing four different manufacturers, with Irwin and Bridewell sharing the podium with Jackson, Ryde and Leon Haslam across the three races.
As the Championship reaches the penultimate round, the top nine riders in the standings remain in mathematical contention, with a maximum of 180 points available from the final two rounds. However, the top six currently remain within the 105 point target which is required if they are to remain in title contention for the final round of the season at Brands Hatch next month.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race 2 result:
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +1.823s
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +2.056s
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) +2.518s
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +2.584s
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) +2.954s
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Ducati) +3.788s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +4.104s
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +5.020s
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +6.858s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race 3 result:
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) +1.147s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +2.107s
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) +5.375s
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +7.655s
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +8.182s
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Ducati) +11.099s
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +11.110s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +14.214s
- Storm Stacey (Starline Racing Kawasaki) +18.447s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 360.5
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 360
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 300
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) 283
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 280.5
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 276.5
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) 250
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Ducati) 222
- Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 207
- Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing) 122.5
Glenn Irwin
BeerMonster Ducati
“We came here in the thick of a championship fight and I’ve been able to grab three podiums, so its been an unbelievable weekend.
“There’s been a lot emotion before we came here and I think how the entire team and everyone within the paddock have handled and been able to put on a show and go to work has been incredible.
“It pleases me a lot how the guys in the team worked and how I rode round here it’s a physical track. We all work very hard. It’s a bit of a cliché when we say we work our asses off and I guess we all do and when the team work as hard as you work, if not harder, you get results and reap the reward.
“The championship lead is nice, it’s always a nice position to be in. It’s certainly better than where it was nine races ago when I was 38.5 points behind. We still have that one additional DNF so to be in the lead, pretty much all square with the extra DNF is something that pleases me a lot.
“Hats off to Tommy [Bridewell] he rode a great last race. We were holding the pace up, both of us for sure purely for energy. You can go banzai round here but the other guy usually comes with you anyway so his last couple of laps were really, really strong. I was working hard but I’d seen at Cadwell when I was trying to push him he nearly made a mistake on the last lap as did I – so close to losing a lot of points.
“I got plus 1.3s I think with two [laps] to go and I was beat fair and square in the race at that point and it was bring home the 22 points. I honestly didn’t expect to overhaul 15 points this weekend, it’s been great. Fair play to the rest of the guys I shared the podium with this weekend because there has been some enjoyable racing.
“I haven’t’ watched any of it and I look forward to getting home tonight, grab a Chinese, and then do the school run in the morning. I have a lot to be grateful for. And how can you not enjoy four wins and two seconds in your last six races?”
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