Irwin double closes down Bridewell as 16 riders remain in the fight

Irwin double closes down Bridewell as 16 riders remain in title fight ahead of the Showdown.

Glenn Irwin completed a winning double in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship round at Cadwell Park to almost half his BeerMonster Ducati teammate’s advantage at the top of the standings with 16 riders remaining in mathematical title contention ahead of the Showdown.

Irwin came into the final round of the Main Season trailing Bridewell by 26.5 points and after a dominant double and a second place, he heads to Oulton Park in Cheshire with just a 14.5-point deficit. However, with the points’ value now increasing across the Showdown, the top 16 riders in the standings, completed by rookie Max Cook, remain in contention with a maximum of 255 points available across the final three rounds.

The annual August Bank Holiday round in Lincolnshire produced three intense races, and whilst the BeerMonster Ducati pairing were victorious, six riders celebrated podium finishes across the weekend for four different teams.

Irwin had got his weekend off to a flying start with his first Cadwell Park race win in the BikeSocial Sprint race yesterday, holding off the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha pairing of Kyle Ryde and Ryan Vickers to celebrate in style his 200th Bennetts BSB race start.

In race two, Irwin was focused on a repeat performance and after running eighth in the early stages, he was into second by the final lap. He then made a move on Ryde at Coppice to take the lead, which he held to the chequered flag with his LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha rival, and McAMS Yamaha’s Jason O’Halloran completing the podium line up.

In the final race of the Main Season, Ryde and Irwin were again fighting for the lead in the early stages of the race, but the final eight laps became a freight train of five riders who ended the race covered by less than a second.

Bridewell took the lead from Irwin with three laps remaining and was able to deny his teammate the treble, and there were celebrations for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team who completed the podium with Leon Haslam.  Ryde, Lee Jackson and O’Halloran just missed out, as the top five ended the race separated by 0.947s.

Bridewell and Irwin remain at the top of the standings, with Ryde, O’Halloran and Haslam the leading five contenders ahead of Oulton Park as four teams feature in the top five ahead of the opening round of the Showdown on September 15/16/17.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park, Race 2 result:

1. Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
2. Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.468s
3. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.770s
4. Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) +1.175s
5. Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) +1.722s
6. Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +2.485s
7. Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +7.318s
8. Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) +7.611s
9. Storm Stacey (Starline Racing Kawasaki) +7.904s
10. Tom Neave (Honda Racing UK) +12.923s

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park, Race 3 result:

1. Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
2. Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) +0.057s
3. Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) +0.491s
4. Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.715s
5. Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +0.947s
6. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +1.651s
7. Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +5.588s
8. Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) +7.117s
9. Storm Stacey (Starline Racing Kawasaki) +7.721s
10. Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) +19.749s

Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:

1. Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 303
2. Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 288.5
3. Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 252
4. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 248.5
5. Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) 227
6. Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 216.5
7. Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) 202
8. Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 189
9. Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 186
10. Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) 116

Glenn Irwin
BeerMonster Ducati
“I’ve had a good feeling throughout the whole year. I was looking forward to coming here and we worked very well as a team throughout the whole weekend, the guys were fantastic so thanks to them and the crowd for their support.

“The last couple of laps of that last race were all in! The fans got treated to a typical BSB race, we were all flat out! I lost the front a good few times, I lost it in the Mountain on the last lap as well, Tommy was pretty much the same over at the Gooseneck. I thought I had him lined up at the chicane but the bike got a little snap.

“All in all, we look at it as a weekend, as part of a journey; one race doesn’t define a weekend, to bring the gap down to 14.5 was what we needed.

“The championship is very much set up. I think BSB has been an absolute treat so far this year and I think the fans are in for an absolutely fantastic last three rounds. Let’s get big crowds like we’ve had all year as it’s been great.

“I’m going to enjoy it, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and keep working hard. I’ve got a very good feeling the trophy’s going to come to Northern Ireland for the very first time.”

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