A sensational start to the season at Silverstone for Honda Racing UK
Silverstone NationalHonda Racing UK has had a sensational start to the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship today at Silverstone, with Glenn Irwin storming to victory
Honda Racing UK has had a sensational start to the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship today at Silverstone, with Glenn Irwin storming to victory in the opening race of the season, after claiming pole position in Qualifying aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Kicking off the season in style, in what is the 30th Anniversary year of the iconic Fireblade, Glenn led the race from start to finish and managed to hold off challenges from OMG Racing teammates Kyle Ryde and Bradley Ray, taking the Race 1 victory and his fifth win in the British Championship.
Meanwhile teammate and BSB rookie Tom Neave had a strong first outing on the Superbike battling in a group with experienced riders including three-time BSB champion Josh Brookes, and 2013 WSBK champion Tom Sykes. Starting from 24th on the grid Tom rode a careful race and it wasn't long before he started to move up the field to eventually come home 15th, collecting one championship point.
New for the 2022 season is the Cataclean Speed League, where Takumi Takahashi recorded the fastest top speed across the board in Race 1 (176.6mph) and crossed the line 16th. Showing strong pace across the sessions, Ryo Mizuno's race unfortunately ended early with an electrical issue while running in 23rd place.
Heading into Sunday's races as the current championship leaders, the Honda Racing UK team will be back in action tomorrow with Race 2 and Race 3.
Today it started to come good! It is the first time I did a race run this year with everything that has gone on – the closest to that was I did get a spell on my Motocross bike in February before I got hurt! I felt good then, so I had to breathe a little bit in that one, Seeley told me a few things like breath on the straights! You can’t make predictions in this Championship. Tomorrow we need to make a good start again; I know Kyle (Ryde) and Brad (Ray) will be here as the Yamaha lads are always at this track! I expect other riders to respond tomorrow, some people won’t be so happy, but it is down to us to continue the good work that we have done today.
Today was a day that did not go well. I finished yesterday in good shape and was looking forward to the first race of the season, but in the race I had an electrical issue and had to retire. I don't feel good but I'll work with the team to get back on track and be ready for the two races tomorrow. Also, a well-deserved season-opening win for my teammate Glenn. Everyone in the team has been working hard and it's great to see him show it in the results, so congratulations to Glenn! Tomorrow we will work as a team again and try to achieve a good result as a whole team.
I had a good feeling during today's Qualifying and I was happy to make it through into Q2. During the race I didn't have the same feeling that I had earlier in the day, so tomorrow we will try to improve on that and work towards getting closer to the front group.
Qualifying didn't quite go to plan today and being a realist if I could gain four or five places in the race then it would be a good result, as I hadn't been below 19th in any practice. So to finish 15th and improve my fastest lap time here and to hunt down a BSB and WSBK champ I was buzzing. I learnt a lot in that race and I feel that a lot of pressure is now off my back, and we can start setting some realistic goals, while having a better understanding of the Fireblade. Overall I'm enjoying the BSB experience and working with my new crew and long may it continue!