Glenn Irwin still in championship contention following a thrilling opening race at Brands Hatch
This afternoon the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race took place as the season finale heated up following a thrilling 16-laps at Brands Hatch. Honda Racing's title chaser Glenn Irwin finished sixth and Andrew Irwin seventh after an intense battle on track where the top-five championship contenders all swapped places chasing the all-important race win.
With mixed weather conditions throughout free practice and qualifying, the opening race was dry and after qualifying earlier in the day Glenn started seventh and Andrew eighth on the grid. Getting a fantastic start off the line aboard the all-new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Glenn was sitting second at the end of the first lap.
Making the most of the Fireblade's power across the start/finish line, Glenn passed Josh Brookes and took the lead early into the fifth lap, where behind the intensity was increasing as Jason O'Halloran, Christian Iddon and Tarran Mackenzie were also hungry for the win.
Holding the lead for the majority of the race, on the 11th lap Glenn started to drop back due to a lack of grip and eventually finished sixth, with brother Andrew behind in seventh after another solid race. The result from today still leaves the championship all to play for, with Glenn now sitting fourth, 21 points behind.
Meanwhile it's been a tough day for the team's Superstock 1000 riders Tom Neave and Davey Todd. Today's qualifying saw mixed conditions and with the track drying throughout the session, tyre choice proved vital with the times. Some riders opted to take a gamble with a dry front tyre which paid off, but the Honda duo opted for a wet front and dry rear which hampered progress. Tomorrow's final race see's Tom 13th on the grid with Davey 22nd.
Tomorrow both the 2020 Bennett British Superbike and Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championships will be decided with one Superstock 1000 race at 14.20 and BSB Rounds 17 at 12.45 and the title decider, Round 18 at 16.00.
With mixed weather conditions throughout free practice and qualifying, the opening race was dry and after qualifying earlier in the day Glenn started seventh and Andrew eighth on the grid. Getting a fantastic start off the line aboard the all-new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Glenn was sitting second at the end of the first lap.
Making the most of the Fireblade's power across the start/finish line, Glenn passed Josh Brookes and took the lead early into the fifth lap, where behind the intensity was increasing as Jason O'Halloran, Christian Iddon and Tarran Mackenzie were also hungry for the win.
Holding the lead for the majority of the race, on the 11th lap Glenn started to drop back due to a lack of grip and eventually finished sixth, with brother Andrew behind in seventh after another solid race. The result from today still leaves the championship all to play for, with Glenn now sitting fourth, 21 points behind.
Meanwhile it's been a tough day for the team's Superstock 1000 riders Tom Neave and Davey Todd. Today's qualifying saw mixed conditions and with the track drying throughout the session, tyre choice proved vital with the times. Some riders opted to take a gamble with a dry front tyre which paid off, but the Honda duo opted for a wet front and dry rear which hampered progress. Tomorrow's final race see's Tom 13th on the grid with Davey 22nd.
Tomorrow both the 2020 Bennett British Superbike and Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championships will be decided with one Superstock 1000 race at 14.20 and BSB Rounds 17 at 12.45 and the title decider, Round 18 at 16.00.
Andrew Irwin
Today's race was quite a fun race to be honest, the first ten laps were fast-going and I didn't really look at the pit board until about three laps from the end. It was nice to be close to the front for a while, but we have just one area we need to improve on and I think if we manage that, then we will hopefully be a bit closer to the front tomorrow. But it was a good race, we're not too far away and we'll try and improve for tomorrow's final two races.
Glenn Irwin
On the grid we talked about getting a good start, and I knew I needed one starting from seventh and it was perfect! We got really stuck in and I was comfortable with the pace I was leading at, but I knew others had perhaps more pace in that race. I was trying to defend and be smart, Jason pulled a move and as I was drafting back I had some big turbulence I suppose, with a big moment and dropped back to third. That was the race from there and unfortunately we dropped further. But it's been a positive, there are areas we know we can work on, and I think if we work on those we can continue to make inroads. Championship wise, for sure we lost points and that's frustrating, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable race and it was nice to make moves on some people.
The 2020 Honda Racing team merchandise is now available to purchase online, click here to check out the range.
British Superbike 2020
Brands Hatch GP, Round 16
| Pos. | Name | No. | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason O'Halloran | 22 | McAMS Yamaha | Yamaha | 23:08.127 | 25 |
| 2 | Christian Iddon | 21 | Visiontrack Ducati | Ducati | +1.877 | 20 |
| 3 | Tarran Mackenzie | – | McAMS Yamaha | Yamaha | +2.075 | 16 |
| 4 | Josh Brookes | 25 | Visiontrack Ducati | Ducati | +3.055 | 13 |
| 5 | Danny Buchan | 83 | Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki | Kawasaki | +3.667 | 11 |
| 6 | Glenn Irwin | – | Honda Racing UK | Honda | +4.479 | 10 |
| 7 | Andrew Irwin | 18 | Honda Racing UK | Honda | +4.787 | 9 |
| 8 | Lee Jackson | 14 | Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki | Kawasaki | +4.845 | 8 |
| 9 | Tommy Bridewell | – | Oxford Products Racing Ducati | Ducati | +5.899 | 7 |
| 10 | Gino Rea | 44 | Buildbase Suzuki | Suzuki | +6.134 | 6 |
| 11 | Luke Mossey | 12 | Rich Energy OMG Racing | BMW | +6.742 | 5 |
| 12 | Jack Kennedy | 41 | RAF Regular and Reserve | Kawasaki | +11.127 | 4 |
| 13 | Peter Hickman | 60 | Global Robots BMW | BMW | +11.303 | 3 |
| 14 | Kyle Ryde | 77 | Buildbase Suzuki | Suzuki | +11.460 | 2 |
| 15 | Joe Francis | 40 | Lloyd and Jones Bowker Motorrad | BMW | +11.770 | 1 |
British Superbike 2020
Brands Hatch GP, Qualifying
| Pos. | Name | No. | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Brookes | 25 | Visiontrack Ducati | Ducati | 1:24.983 |
| 2 | Jason O'Halloran | 22 | McAMS Yamaha | Yamaha | +0.385 |
| 3 | Christian Iddon | 21 | Visiontrack Ducati | Ducati | +0.787 |
| 4 | Bradley Ray | 28 | SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad | BMW | +0.805 |
| 5 | Luke Mossey | 12 | Rich Energy OMG Racing | BMW | +0.837 |
| 6 | Gino Rea | 44 | Buildbase Suzuki | Suzuki | +0.885 |
| 7 | Glenn Irwin | – | Honda Racing UK | Honda | +0.934 |
| 8 | Andrew Irwin | 18 | Honda Racing UK | Honda | +1.005 |
| 9 | Tarran Mackenzie | – | McAMS Yamaha | Yamaha | +1.013 |
| 10 | Jack Kennedy | 41 | RAF Regular and Reserve | Kawasaki | +1.081 |
National Superstock 2020
Brands Hatch GP, Qualifying
| Pos. | Name | No. | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy McConnell | 3 | OMG Racing | Yamaha | 1:30.992 |
| 2 | Jordan Weaving | 34 | Jones Dorling Racing | Honda | +0.162 |
| 3 | Chrissy Rouse | 69 | Crowe Performance | BMW | +0.635 |
| 4 | Dan Linfoot | 4 | Bathams BMW Motorrad | BMW | +0.721 |
| 5 | Keith Farmer | 33 | Buildbase Suzuki | Suzuki | +1.041 |
| 6 | Danny Kent | 52 | Morello IMR by CPD | Kawasaki | +1.258 |
| 7 | Fraser Rogers | 89 | Morello IMR by CPD | Kawasaki | +1.503 |
| 8 | Luke Hedger | 12 | CPD Kawasaki | Kawasaki | +2.095 |
| 9 | Tim Neave | 14 | Hawk Racing | Suzuki | +2.220 |
| 10 | Ashley Beech | 55 | Jones Dorling Racing | Honda | +2.271 |
| 11 | Lewis Rollo | 6 | IN Competition/Aprilia | Aprilia | +2.476 |
| 12 | Michael Rutter | 4 | Bathams BMW Motorrad | BMW | +2.831 |
| 13 | Tom Neave | 68 | Honda Racing UK | Honda | +2.847 |
| 22 | Davey Todd | 74 | Honda Racing UK | Honda | +5.659 |