Glenn Irwin sets Friday pace at Oulton Park as British Superbike Showdown commences

The Cheshire circuit hosts the opening round of the Showdown, which takes on a different format this year with extra points on the table over the final three rounds.

Irwin won twice at Cadwell Park two weeks ago on the BeerMonster Ducati to slash Bridewell’s lead to 14.5 points, although his English rival responded with a hard-fought victory in race three.

The championship is finely poised and looks set to be decided at the final round at Brands Hatch in Kent in October, but Carrickfergus man Irwin is confident he has the momentum to come out on top and be crowned Northern Ireland’s first British Superbike champion.

The 33-year-old, fastest in free practice on Friday, is wearing a special edition Shoei helmet this weekend in tribute to team boss Paul Bird, who passed away a fortnight ago aged 56 following a short illness.

Irwin said: “There is a serious winning mentality in PBM – the strongest winning mentally that I have ever witnessed, whether it be in racing or in any walk of life.

“It takes a huge character to be able to instil that into a team in such a way that when you are in PBM, the aura you know is about winning.

“With Paul now passing, that aura is still very much there – that feeling of what is demanded of you in PBM – and it takes such a big character to be able to instil that, which will remain now that he has gone.

“I have a great feeling and I have said it all year, and despite the tough times for the team of late with the news of Paul, I still have a great feeling of how this season’s chapter ends.

“I have continued to target Tommy and we have beaten him in five of the last six [races],” added Irwin.

“I feel that momentum is with me, as it was with him in the middle part of the season, and I would be ignorant to ignore that as he did a fantastic job at that part of the year.

“Right now, I want to continue with the momentum that I feel we have the upper hand and to continue to build on that, and most of all, put on a good show for not just Paul, but all the fans of PBM who I am sure were also saddened by the news.”

Irwin set the pace on the combined times in free practice with a lap in 1m 34.225s in FP2, which was 0.047s faster than Leon Haslam on the ROKiT BMW.

Bridewell, who led FP1, was fifth quickest overall, just over two tenths down on Irwin’s time, with OMG Yamaha riders Ryan Vickers and Kyle Ryde third and fourth fastest respectively.

Michael Dunlop, racing at Oulton Park on the Crendon Honda by Hawk Racing as a replacement for injury-hit Josh Owens, was 23rd.

Current National Superstock 1000 champion Davey Todd finished the opening day in 18th as he made his competitive debut on the SYNETIQ BMW. Todd is deputising for Danny Buchan, who was injured in a crash at Cadwell Park.

Honda Racing’s Andrew Irwin remains sidelined but is edging closer to a return after sustaining injuries during a test at Knockhill at the end of May.

Saturday’s BSB Sprint race is at 4:15pm with Sunday’s longer 18-lap races at 1:15pm and 4:15pm.