More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Oulton Park produces three different race winners as Bridewell claims first victory in 2023
Tommy Bridewell became the fourth different race winner in the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship in the second race of the weekend at Oulton Park. However, it was his BeerMonster Ducati teammate Glenn Irwin, who was victorious in race three in the closest finish of the season so far.
The second round produced three different race winners as five different title contenders featured on the podium after the three races in Cheshire.
Bridewell maintained his strong record at Oulton Park by winning the second race of the weekend to take his first victory with the BeerMonster Ducati team, withstanding the pressure from his rivals.
Leon Haslam was moving up the order and soon he was just behind Bridewell and ready to try to fight for the win ahead of brothers Andrew and Glenn Irwin.
Haslam was trying to attack Bridewell and defend against Andrew Irwin at the same time, a moment for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad rider at Lodge gave his Honda Racing UK rival the chance to move ahead. However, Haslam was instantly on the attack and regained the position.
Bridewell was holding the advantage and the leading group became a pack of five with Bridewell, Haslam, Andrew and Glenn Irwin plus Ryde who later lost ground in the closing stages.
Bridewell made a break over the final three laps to score his first win for BeerMonster Ducati this season, but behind Glenn Irwin had charged into second to make it a 1-2 for Paul Bird’s team, the first since 2020.
The fight for third went down to the wire and Andrew Irwin made a move down the inside at Lodge for the final time, but Haslam wasn’t giving up the podium and he managed to regain the advantage on the run over Deer Leap to the chequered flag.
Andrew Irwin had to settle for fourth place, his best result of the season so far for Honda Racing UK, ahead of Ryde and yesterday’s race winner Josh Brookes.
In the final race of the weekend, Glenn Irwin denied Haslam his first race win of the season by celebrating his second victory of the season. The BeerMonster Ducati rider now take the standings lead by four points ahead of the next event at Donington Park (May 19/20/21).
Andrew Irwin was the rider with the best launch off the line to lead his brother Glenn and previous champions Brookes and Haslam with race two winner Bridewell and Kyle Ryde close behind.
Glenn Irwin made a move on his brother for the lead on lap three, and then Haslam was next to have the Honda Racing UK rider in his sights. The ‘Pocket Rocket’ made a pass of his own on the sixth lap to move into second.
A lap later, Haslam had a huge moment on the ROKiT BMW Motorrad into Old Hall and that meant he lost ground on Glenn Irwin ahead of him that he needed to claw back as he got back into his race rhythm.
Bridewell was then on the move and launched himself into third place to relegate Andrew Irwin back a further position, as Haslam split the BeerMonster Ducati teammates on lap ten.
Glenn Irwin was fending off the challenge but Haslam was typically determined, making a brave move into Old Hall on lap 12. The BeerMonster rider was unsettled, giving his teammate Bridewell the opportunity to move into second place.
Glenn Irwin was back into second at Lodge later on the same lap though with a decisive move on his teammate. He recaptured the lead on the next lap when he passed Haslam on the brakes into Hizzys.
The leading pack were inseparable but Glenn Irwin had enough to hold the advantage to the finish on the final lap by just 0.062s, with Haslam in second. Behind however, Ryde had been carving his way through and was into third after a dive down the inside on Bridewell at Hizzys with three laps to go.
Ryde held off Bridewell to the finish to become the fifth different rider for the fourth different team to score a podium finish in Cheshire, with Brookes claiming a top five finish for the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race 2 result:
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati)
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) +1.571s
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) +2.686s
- Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +2.809s
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +7.511s
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +9.739s
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +10.777s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +15.465s
- Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) +23.418s
- Dean Harrison (DAO Racing Kawasaki) +25.871s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Oulton Park, Race 3 result:
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati)
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) +0.062s
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.357s
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) +1.053s
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +2.665s
- Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +6.628s
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +8.191s
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +8.332s
- Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing UK) +11.580s
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +22.438s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
- Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 91
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) 87
- Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 87
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) 76
- Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 73
- Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing UK) 44
- Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 41
- Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) 40
- Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 37
- Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) 32
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Tommy Bridewell – Race 2 winner
BeerMonster Ducati
“It’s been a slightly mixed day as whilst I’m delighted with the race win, I’m disappointed with fourth in the second race. We made a slight change to the chassis, but it wasn’t enough to have made the difference it did, and the bike felt very different in the two races.
“I’m obviously chuffed with race two. It sounds bad to say but it’s a lot easier when you’re following because you’re just watching another rider. The hard part is leading a race – you get a lot more satisfaction when you win and you lead from start to finish because they’ve had the whole race whoever’s behind me to understand where I’m strong and where I’m weak.
“I lost a bit of focus because I knew I could win the race, I knew I’d done the hard work so I was overthinking a little bit, but I regrouped and set a very realistic pace and brought it home to the victory.
“I am really, really ecstatic as much as I’m not climbing off the walls I am really ecstatic. The first one-two for BeerMonster Ducati is brilliant. Everyone thinks I’m invincible at Oulton Park. I’ve won a lot of races here and yes my pace is good and I understand the track.
“I am on the limit every lap but I’m no more superior at Oulton Park than anyone else. I just put myself in the right place at the right time and got the win.”
Glenn Irwin – Race 3 winner
BeerMonster Ducati
“It’s been a brilliant day for both myself and the whole BeerMonster Ducati team and you can see the passion within the garage with everyone working really hard.
“I really struggled at the beginning of race two and lost a position when Peter Hickman crashed in front of me, so I had to work hard to get going. I was really happy to come through to second and give PBM a 1-2 and fair play to Tommy, he rode faultlessly.
“We made some changes for the final race which helped in some areas, but I nearly lost the front at Shell whilst I also made a mistake when Leon came by. I got back in front to take victory so let’s keep this run going.”
