Haslam finally clinches elusive Bennetts British Superbike title
Leon Haslam celebrated his first Bennetts British Superbike Championship title victory at Brands Hatch this afternoon, crossing the line in a safe sixth place to have the edge over Jake Dixon into tomorrow’s two races.
It was Glenn Irwin though who was victorious for the first time this season for Be Wiser Ducati, becoming the sixth different race winner of the year, with Dixon and Tarran Mackenzie completing the podium in the opening race to the triple-header weekend.
At the start of the race Glenn Irwin launched off the line to lead the pack into Paddock Hill Bend from Dixon and Mackenzie with Peter Hickman and Andrew Irwin in close contention. Superbike rookie Mackenzie had a big moment on the McAMS Yamaha on the third lap and that dropped him down the order.
On the fifth lap Richard Cooper and Tommy Bridewell crashed out unhurt at Druids, the pair had been running inside the top eight, with Jason O’Halloran crashing out a lap later at Graham Hill Bend.
Meanwhile at the front Andrew Irwin moved into second place on the seventh lap to put both of the Be Wiser Ducatis ahead of the chasing pack. Dixon wasn’t giving up without a fight though an he stalked the younger Irwin brother before making a decisive move with four laps to go.
Mackenzie then had Andrew Irwin in his sights too and he went for a dive down the inside at Surtees with two laps remaining to fire the McAMS Yamaha back into podium contention. At the front though Glenn Irwin had the edge to hold off Dixon and Mackenzie to the chequered flag as Andrew Irwin equalled his best finish of the season.
Peter Hickman held on to fifth place for Smiths Racing BMW ahead of Haslam who had done enough to become British champion after a season that has seen him score 14 race wins and only failed to finish off the podium four times.
Haslam was ahead of 2015 title-winner Josh Brookes and James Ellison with Danny Buchan edging out Michael Laverty to complete the top ten.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Race 1 result:
1.Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)
2.Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +1.901s
3.Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +2.462s
4.Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +3.597s
5.Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +5.122s
6.Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +6.185s
7.Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) +8.954s
8.James Ellison (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +10.808s
9.Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +15.198s
10.Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +20.702s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Brands Hatch, Race 1:
1.Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 664
2.Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) 613
3.Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) 579
4.Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) 566
5.Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) 560
6.Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) 538
For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Leon Haslam
(JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
2018 Bennetts BSB champion
“It’s like a big weight’s been lifted off my shoulders. Honestly it was kind-of one of those races I knew I didn’t need to push on, I needed to stay out of trouble. I got really pushed out wide in turn two and then it was Cooper I think crashed out in front of me and I was just like ‘stay out of trouble, stay out of trouble’.
“I saw Jake wasn’t leading so I knew top seven was good enough and I was running in sixth with a big gap. I wanted to have a go at Hicky and Tarran to try and get on that podium but I just didn’t want to risk it.
“After the last few years, I just wanted to bring it home and tomorrow I can enjoy now. I can go out and have a bit of fun. That last lap felt like an eternity, it was a long old race! It’s been one of those years, it’s gone so well and I’m so grateful to everyone around me.”
More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Ducati:
Irwin Takes Victory At Brands Hatch
The Be Wiser Ducati team had a superb day of racing at Brands Hatch today with Glenn Irwin claiming his first win of the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season and team-mate and younger brother Andrew taking a superb fourth place.
Having posted the second quickest time across the three free practice sessions, Glenn’s intentions for the weekend were clear and he went quicker still in Datatag Extreme Qualifying on the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R with a time of 1m 24.876s. It saw him line up in second place and in the middle of the front row for today’s opening 20-lap race, the first of three across the weekend.
The 28 year old from Carrickfergus made the perfect start to the race, grabbing the lead off the line and from that moment on he was never headed. Despite coming under pressure initially from Jake Dixon and then, for eight laps, from Andrew, he never put a wheel wrong and ultimately took his first win of the year, and first Superbike win in the dry, by just under two seconds from Dixon.
The 25 points also saw him take a firm grip on third place overall in the title race with his advantage over Josh Brookes 13 points with just two races left tomorrow. 24-year-old Andrew was also in excellent form and enjoyed a strong day, making it through to Q3 where he eventually qualified in an excellent fourth place to head off the second row, just over half a second adrift of pole position.
Like Glenn, he made a fine start to slot into fifth place which became fourth on lap three when he moved ahead of Peter Hickman. With what turned out to be the second fastest lap of the race, he continued to move forward and took second place on lap eight with the siblings circulating at the head of the field for the next eight laps, a dream position for Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team.
However, just when it looked a 1-2 was on the cards, Andrew slipped back in the closing stages having slightly over used his tyres but although he ended up finishing fourth, it equalled his best BSB result to date.
Glenn Irwin: “It was good to be on the front row after qualifying and we were feeling confident ahead of the race. I’ve been within half a second of a race win about six or seven times this year, so I said to the team it was now or never and everything fell into place. My timer on the dash wasn’t working so it was difficult to know what the gap was to the rider behind me, so I set quite a slow pace to begin with. I then saw Andrew’s pit board with ‘P2’ on it and I didn’t want him behind me as he’s pretty mad, but I knew with his lack of experience he’d be harder on the tyre than me so pushed hard in the final third of the race. It allowed me to pull away and it’s the best way to finish my time with the team as Paul Bird has given me so much over the last three years.”
Andrew Irwin: “The race was better than I expected to be fair and when I was running in second behind my brother it was unreal as the dream would have been to get a 1-2 as it’s something that’s never been done before. I tried a bit too hard in the last few laps though and made a few mistakes and it was enough for me to lose a podium place. The bike’s been working well all weekend and been very consistent so with two more races tomorrow I’ll be looking to sign off my time with the team with a podium.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “It was a faultless ride from Glenn and after grabbing the hole shot he didn’t put a wheel wrong. His first race win in the dry and his first one in 2018 has been a long time coming but it couldn’t have been done any better as he really dominated proceedings and I’m pleased he’s got one under his belt before moving onto pastures new in 2019. As for Andrew, it’s been a pleasure having him in the team and he’s ridden well all weekend so fourth place was an excellent effort. Of course, he’s a bit disappointed he didn’t finish on the podium and perhaps he used the tyres a bit more than the other riders, but he’s only had a handful of races on a Superbike and one thing’s for sure is that he has a bright future ahead of him.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship Race One
1 Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)
2 Jake Dixon (Kawasaki)
3 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
4 Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)
5 Peter Hickman (BMW)
6 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
Championship Points
1 Haslam 664 points
2 Dixon 613
3 Glenn Irwin 579
4 Brookes 566
5 Hickman 560
6 Ray 538
17 Andrew Irwin 90
For further information, please visit the team’s website, www.pbmuk.net and the official website of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship www.pbmuk.net