Honda Racing UK ready to take the title fight to the final round at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch GP
This weekend (14-15-16 October) the final round of the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship takes place at Brands Hatch and the race to claim the title goes down to the wire, where Honda Racing UK’s Glenn Irwin is sitting second in the standings.
After a strong showing at the previous round, where Glenn took two podium finishes aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, he is now sitting second overall in the standings, 66 points behind current leader Bradley Ray.
Although it's mathematically possible for Glenn to be crowned the 2022 BSB Champion at the weekend, he needs three strong results and to ultimately finish ahead of Bradley to break down his points advantage and take the series lead.
Glenn’s highest finish in the British series was in 2018 when he finished third. In 2020 he was fourth in his first year with the Honda squad and last year, having struggled with injury in the latter part of the season he finished eighth.
Meanwhile Glenn’s teammates Ryo Mizuno, Takumi Takahashi and Tom Neave will all be looking to wrap up the 2022 season on a positive note. For Ryo and Takumi, they will both be looking to improve their results from the last time at Brands Hatch, where Ryo finished 22-DNF-21, and Takumi 18-13-14.
BSB rookie Tom Neave enjoyed his best finish of the season at Brands Hatch in July during the sixth round, where he finished 11th. Tom’s goal for this weekend is to track down that elusive top-ten finish and finish his first year in the premier class on a high.
Superbike first practice gets underway at 12.30 on Friday 14 October, with Race 1 on Saturday (15 October). Race 2 and the 2022 final race will take place on Sunday (16 October). Click here for the full weekend timetable.
Obviously it's nice to go into the final round with a mathematical chance of winning the championship, however this is racing and anything can happen, and there's a lot of riders hot on Bradley's (Ray) and our heels. I think a realistic goal for the weekend is second in the championship and that's the battle we have, which is something we can control. We made some steps with the Fireblade a few rounds ago that have now been refined. I have also made a step with myself and some old injuries, which are now no longer injuries and it's allowed me to gel with the bike where I feel we're getting the maximum potential from the Honda. If we're able to capitalise on this over the weekend I feel we can stand on the podium. This weekend we're aiming for second in the championship, third would be at the worst and the title at the best, but it's most important to stand on that rostrum in some position.
Obviously it's nice to go into the final round with a mathematical chance of winning the championship, however this is racing and anything can happen, and there's a lot of riders hot on Bradley's (Ray) and our heels. I think a realistic goal for the weekend is second in the championship and that's the battle we have, which is something we can control. We made some steps with the Fireblade a few rounds ago that have now been refined. I have also made a step with myself and some old injuries, which are now no longer injuries and it's allowed me to gel with the bike where I feel we're getting the maximum potential from the Honda. If we're able to capitalise on this over the weekend I feel we can stand on the podium. This weekend we're aiming for second in the championship, third would be at the worst and the title at the best, but it's most important to stand on that rostrum in some position.
Brands Hatch isn't a circuit that I am very well suited to, but it's one I have raced at already this season, so we have some data already and I can be as prepared as possible. I hope this weekend to have a strong finish to the season, but most importantly we are all racing for Chrissy.
Brands Hatch isn't a circuit that I am very well suited to, but it's one I have raced at already this season, so we have some data already and I can be as prepared as possible. I hope this weekend to have a strong finish to the season, but most importantly we are all racing for Chrissy.
This will be my second race at Brands Hatch this year and I will be aiming for better lap times and results than last time as I have ridden there once. It will be the last race of the year in no time, and I want to finish the season with a good feeling by giving everything I've done this year.
This will be my second race at Brands Hatch this year and I will be aiming for better lap times and results than last time as I have ridden there once. It will be the last race of the year in no time, and I want to finish the season with a good feeling by giving everything I've done this year.
It's the last round already and I can't believe how quickly the season has gone. I want to go into this weekend and end the year on a high note after what's been a bit of a difficult season in my first Superbike year. The last time we were at Brands Hatch things felt good and the Fireblade was working well. I did crash out in the final race, but up until that point I had some good results where I finished 11th, which to date is my best finish this year. It would be nice to replicate the 11th place, or get the first top 10 of the season. I will be putting in maximum effort this weekend, with Chrissy in my thoughts and I'll try to do him proud.
It's the last round already and I can't believe how quickly the season has gone. I want to go into this weekend and end the year on a high note after what's been a bit of a difficult season in my first Superbike year. The last time we were at Brands Hatch things felt good and the Fireblade was working well. I did crash out in the final race, but up until that point I had some good results where I finished 11th, which to date is my best finish this year. It would be nice to replicate the 11th place, or get the first top 10 of the season. I will be putting in maximum effort this weekend, with Chrissy in my thoughts and I'll try to do him proud.