British Superbike title leader Glenn Irwin has clear target as Donington Park hosts penultimate championship round

The Honda Racing rider leads the standings by a slender margin of two points with six races to go and Irwin’s goal is to maintain his position at the top of the table heading into the decisive final round at Brands Hatch in two weeks’ time.

He held a healthy advantage of 35 points in the title chase prior to round four at Oulton Park in Cheshire, but a retirement on his CBR1000RR-R Fireblade in race two allowed his rivals to drastically reduce his points cushion.

Australian Jason O’Halloran, a double winner at Oulton for the McAMS Yamaha squad, is snapping at Irwin’s heels, while former BSB champion Josh Brookes and his VisionTrack Ducati team-mate Christian Iddon are only 10 points and 12 points behind the Ulster rider respectively.

The Donington Park National circuit provided rich pickings for Irwin and his brother and Honda team-mate Andrew at the opening round of the series in August, with Andrew winning two of the three races, while Glenn claimed a valuable hat-trick of runner-up finishes.

On this occasion, Donington’s bigger Grand Prix circuit hosts the action, bringing the Fogarty Esses and the Melbourne Loop into play as the championship protagonists gear up for what is set to be a pivotal weekend in deciding the final destination of the title.

Irwin said: “I’m confident ahead of the weekend, I can’t go and say I’m going to win, but what I can say is the championship is close and I would like to go to Brands Hatch with obviously a lead in the standings to start with, and a bigger lead than we currently have now.

“I think we need and want to do that and being at a track where I think we realise that we can do that with our package is important.

“If we didn’t think we had the pace at the track with the bike it would be difficult aiming for higher results, but there is no reason why we can’t perform at a high level,” added the Carrick man.

“Obviously, our opposition can bring their A game as well, which can always make things difficult, but that’s where we are. The weather could throw some variables as well, so that will be exciting.”

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