Glenn Irwin fourth in final BSB race of weekend at Donington Park as Kyle Ryde seals double and title advantage
Glenn Irwin remains third in the British Superbike Championship with one round to go after a victory and fourth place in Sunday’s races at the penultimate Showdown round at Donington Park.
The Hager PBM Ducati rider says he will ‘keep fighting’ to the end, although the outcome is likely to be decided between reigning champion Tommy Bridewell and Kyle Ryde.
OMG Yamaha rider Ryde took over from Bridewell at the top of the standings following his victory in the final race of the weekend, which gave him a double after he also won Saturday’s 20-lap race.
Ryde took the win in Race 3 by 0.384s from Danny Kent on the McAMS Yamaha after the result was declared following a red flag incident on lap 19 of 20.
Billy McConnell crashed at the Melbourne hairpin, with Christian Iddon and Jason O’Halloran caught up in the incident.
Ryde’s team-mate Ryan Vickers rounded out the podium places ahead of Irwin, with Bridewell and his Honda Racing UK team-mate Andrew Irwin completing the top six.
The championship will now go down to the wire at Brands Hatch from October 11-13, with Ryde holding a slender lead of four points over Bridewell.
Carrickfergus man Irwin, the championship runner-up for the past two seasons, is 46 points off the top.
Irwin claimed his eighth win of the season in the 12-lap Sprint race after fending off Bridewell and Ryde in a pulsating battle.
The 34-year-old also shattered the lap record with a time of 1m 27.345s on his third lap.
In the Supersport class, Luke Stapleford won the Feature race from championship leader Jack Kennedy, with Ben Currie third.
Eugene McManus was the leading Northern Ireland rider in fifth.
Former champion Alastair Seeley crashed out of sixth.
Scott Swann finished on the podium in third in the National Superstock 1000 race behind Luke Mossey and Davey Todd, who remains in pole position for the title on the Cheshire Mouldings BMW. Eglinton’s David Allingham was sixth.
In the British Talent Cup, Alexander Rowan had a best result of sixth in the second race, while Jack Burrows was eighth in Saturday’s first race.
Peter Willis finished 10th in the third race with Burrows in 13th and Rowan 19th.
Nikki Coates claimed second place in the main BMW F900R Cup race.