Snetterton Showdown decider awaits Honda Racing UK
This weekend (9-11 September) is crunch time as round eight of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship will see the 2022 Showdown top-eight decided at Snetterton, where currently Honda Racing UK’s Glenn Irwin is in contention for an all-important Showdown spot.
Arriving at the 2.99-mile Norfolk circuit, Glenn is currently fifth overall with 214 points, just 11 points from fourth place, having won three races at the opening round of the season at Silverstone and placing third at Brands Hatch aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Across the three races at Snetterton, Glenn will be looking for solid points to elevate his position in the standings, as well as confirming his place as a Title Fighter, alongside those already confirmed - Bradley Ray, Jason O’Halloran and Rory Skinner.
Teammate Takumi Takahashi will be looking to continue his good form of late, where last time out at Cadwell Park he impressed with his lap times, as well as securing a place in Superpole. Last year at Snetterton he finished Race 1 in the points in 14th, so he will be looking for point-scoring finishes across the weekend.
Meanwhile, Ryo Mizuno will also be looking to improve and collect more points towards his season tally, after struggling with set-up last time out. For BSB rookie Tom Neave, he too will be looking to progress as he chases down that elusive top ten finish.
Meanwhile, Ryo Mizuno will also be looking to improve and collect more points towards his season tally, after struggling with set-up last time out. For BSB rookie Tom Neave, he too will be looking to progress as he chases down that elusive top ten finish.
Superbike first practice gets underway on Friday (9 September) at 13.00, with Race 1 on Saturday (10 September). Race 2 and 3 will take place on Sunday (11 September). Click here for the full weekend timetable.
Glenn Irwin
I’m looking forward to getting back to Snetterton this weekend and back to a track where we’ve won at before. We also have good memories from last year with the pole position and leading the first race for a few laps. The Fireblade is a lot different now to when we tested at the track at the start of the season regarding the chassis, electronics and we also now have seven rounds of BSB under our belts. It’ll be a tough weekend, the Ducati boys will be quick, it’s a circuit that seems to bring out the best in them, then chuck the other lads into the mix and it’ll be tough one for sure, but it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to. We have a big carrot dangling in front of us with the Showdown, so this weekend I will do the best job I can, continue to develop the bike and look to secure a place in the Showdown as early into the weekend as possible.
Ryo Mizuno
It's the second half of the season and I think all the riders have made progress with their set-up and are ready to finish. I'm looking forward to Snetterton as it's a circuit where we did our first test of the season, and where we have raced before with this season's machine specifications. The layout of the circuit is also very unique, with independent straights connecting the corners, so I think the key will be to drive one corner without losing any time. I'll do my best.
Takumi Takahashi
I'm hoping to keep up the good rhythm from the last round at Cadwell Park and take on Snetterton. Snetterton is an easier track to ride than Cadwell Park, but of course there are some difficulties and I will try my best to deal with them as quickly as possible.
#68 Tom Neave
I’ve only got good memories of racing at Snetterton; the last two years I won both Superstock 1000 races and had a clean sweep topping the sessions, a pole position, taking the lap record and winning the races, so I'm hoping some of that experience can follow me this weekend. I don’t expect it to be easy, the last few rounds have been a bit of a struggle, so I’m going in with an open mind and no pressure. We had a test pre-season at Snetterton, so I’ve ridden the Superbike there already, so there shouldn’t be any surprises going into the weekend. Fingers crossed we can have a solid, enjoyable weekend, forget the results, the main focus is to enjoy it and extract as much as possible from it.