Pole Positions all round for Honda Racing UK
Cadwell Park
Honda Racing UK kicked off their home round at Cadwell Park with Pole Positions in both the 2021 Pirelli National Superstock and the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
Glenn Irwin set his fastest qualifying lap in Q2 aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP grabbing his first Qualifying Pole Position this season and an unofficial lap record of 1:26.012. With a strong start and the advantage of pole, Glenn maintained his lead until lap 7. After 14 laps of the narrow and unique Cadwell Park circuit, Irwin finished in 4th to add 13 championship points to his tally.
Teammates Ryo Mizuno and Takumi Takahashi both made their race debuts at Cadwell Park with Takumi having his best qualifying session yet placing 4th in Q1 and getting into Q2 for the first time. Heading into the race from Row 6 in 18th, Takumi made good progress in the latter stages of the race moving up two places to take 16th while Ryo also improved on his 20th grid position to finish 19th.
Honda Racing UK's Superstock rider, Tom Neave also had a sensational qualifying aboard the Fireblade SP. Heading out as soon as the pit lane opened to attack Cadwell Park with a clear track ahead, it was clear Tom was on the pace immediately and using his home circuit knowledge to great advantage to set a Pole Position lap time of just 1:27.656, the fastest ever lap of Cadwell Park on a Superstock machine.
The team will be back in action tomorrow (Sunday 22 August) for two more Superbike races and the Superstock race of the weekend.
I am really happy with the race and how the Fireblade SP is working, the team's in a good place, the bike's in a good place and has huge potential. In Superstock spec it's incredible. But, in the race, we started to get some chatter that robbed us of the chance to score big today. We'll look at the data and work on it for the sessions tomorrow. But, I'm not too disappointed with 4th place, it's 13 more championship points towards the Showdown.
The problem I had in qualifying was solved for the race and I had a good pace from the start. But I made a mistake and went off the track early and I was out of the group. It was a baptism of fire for this special circuit, but I'm feeling better and better every time I go out on the track, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow and trying to finish on a happy note!
It was good to be in Q2 for the first time, but I couldn’t improve my lap time in Q2. In Race1, I didn't make a good start and during the race, I wasn't as fast as I had been in qualifying. With two more races tomorrow I'll work with what I've learned so far and we will try to improve even more.
Despite topping the board in yesterday's free practice, I knew I had so much more to give aboard the Fireblade SP. Our strategy for qualifying was to be first on track today, and that gave me the clear laps I needed to showcase what I'm capable of and really crack on. But, I never expected to get into the 27s and take pole by a good margin. I was even going quicker into my second flying lap before I caught up with traffic in the last sector. We're in a really good place and I'm feeling very confident for the race tomorrow.