Pole position and victory for Glenn Irwin at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch GP
Glenn Irwin has got the final round of the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship off to a flying start winning the opening race of the weekend aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP at Brands Hatch in this afternoon's 16-lap eBay Sprint Race, having claimed the pole position in Qualifying earlier in the day.
Glenn rode a superb race leading the pack from start to finish, as well as claiming the fastest lap (1:25.090), which sees him start tomorrow's longer 20-lap race from pole position.
Despite scoring 25 points with the race victory, Glenn's title rival Bradley Ray finished fifth, which saw him score enough points to be crowned the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Champion.
Tomorrow Glenn will be looking to finish second in the championship and going into the two races, the Honda-man is 13 points ahead of third place rider Tommy Bridewell.
Meanwhile teammate Takumi Takahashi added some more points to his championship tally coming home 13th, but it was disaster for BSB rookie Tom Neave on the first corner of the first lap.
Having got a good start off the line Tom had moved up the pack but coming into Paddock Hill Bend, he was left with nowhere to go after the pack ahead grouped up and he ran into the back of his Honda teammate Ryo Mizuno and crashed out of the running. Ryo was forced to retire at the end of the first lap, after the impact of Tom's machine caused his seat unit to come off.
Tomorrow the Honda Racing UK team will look forward to the last two races of the 2022 season.
I did all I could, but it wasn't enough to win the championship this year. But we have to be realistic Bradley (Ray) has outperformed me for the majority of the season and it's probably only during the last few rounds where we have been on a par pace wise. But hats off to Brad, he's a very deserving Champion, he's a young lad who has a big future in this sport! The Fireblade was faultless today, I said to my team after the race that I could have done another 100 laps out there! I think the final few laps I did a 25.2, just to make sure I had a nice gap ahead on the last two laps. It was a thoroughly enjoyable race from start to finish and it's always nice to look behind and see your younger brother on the podium, I definitely prefer looking behind and seeing him on the podium than looking ahead! But for Pete (Hickman) to finish second as well, we have a different kind of respect we're road racers and it's nice to show we can do both in BSB and on the roads. I want to do the exact same in tomorrow's two races, I do expect a different fight though as Brad with the pressure now off will give it his all. We also have a good chance of securing second in the championship, so I'm looking forward to getting stuck in tomorrow.
I did all I could, but it wasn't enough to win the championship this year. But we have to be realistic Bradley (Ray) has outperformed me for the majority of the season and it's probably only during the last few rounds where we have been on a par pace wise. But hats off to Brad, he's a very deserving Champion, he's a young lad who has a big future in this sport! The Fireblade was faultless today, I said to my team after the race that I could have done another 100 laps out there! I think the final few laps I did a 25.2, just to make sure I had a nice gap ahead on the last two laps. It was a thoroughly enjoyable race from start to finish and it's always nice to look behind and see your younger brother on the podium, I definitely prefer looking behind and seeing him on the podium than looking ahead! But for Pete (Hickman) to finish second as well, we have a different kind of respect we're road racers and it's nice to show we can do both in BSB and on the roads. I want to do the exact same in tomorrow's two races, I do expect a different fight though as Brad with the pressure now off will give it his all. We also have a good chance of securing second in the championship, so I'm looking forward to getting stuck in tomorrow.
I had no luck today and had to retire, after I was hit in the first corner on the first lap. I am disappointed with the result, but I am very happy that I was able to go from Q1 to Q2 and set a new personal best here at Brands, which is good as we have improved a lot. Tomorrow's two races will be the end of the season, but I will try to catch up from the back of the grid and make it a good end to the season!
I had no luck today and had to retire, after I was hit in the first corner on the first lap. I am disappointed with the result, but I am very happy that I was able to go from Q1 to Q2 and set a new personal best here at Brands, which is good as we have improved a lot. Tomorrow's two races will be the end of the season, but I will try to catch up from the back of the grid and make it a good end to the season!
My feeling in FP1 was not bad, but I could not adjust well in the sessions from FP2 to qualifying and I started Race 1 from 22nd position. In the race I was able to lap at a better pace than I had in qualifying, so I'll be aiming for a better result for the two races tomorrow.
My feeling in FP1 was not bad, but I could not adjust well in the sessions from FP2 to qualifying and I started Race 1 from 22nd position. In the race I was able to lap at a better pace than I had in qualifying, so I'll be aiming for a better result for the two races tomorrow.
I don't quite know what to say about today really. The weekend didn't get off to the best of starts, we missed a lot of dry practice with the weather conditions so I only had a few dry laps going into Qualifying as FP3 was damp. But in qualifying I managed to do a new PB straight off, I progressed into Q2 again, which is another step for me. I was feeling really good for the race but unfortunately I got tangled up in someone else's mess into turn one which caused me to crash. There was nothing I could have done today, it wasn't my fault - but it's just a shame as I think we could have had a good race today. I need to take the positives from the weekend into tomorrow's races, I'm starting from the back of the grid so I've got to dig deep and do what I can.
I don't quite know what to say about today really. The weekend didn't get off to the best of starts, we missed a lot of dry practice with the weather conditions so I only had a few dry laps going into Qualifying as FP3 was damp. But in qualifying I managed to do a new PB straight off, I progressed into Q2 again, which is another step for me. I was feeling really good for the race but unfortunately I got tangled up in someone else's mess into turn one which caused me to crash. There was nothing I could have done today, it wasn't my fault - but it's just a shame as I think we could have had a good race today. I need to take the positives from the weekend into tomorrow's races, I'm starting from the back of the grid so I've got to dig deep and do what I can.