Glenn Irwin still 'in with a shout' of British Superbike title ahead of championship finale at Brands Hatch
Glenn Irwin is ‘keeping an open mindset’ with one round of the British Superbike Championship Showdown to go at Brands Hatch in less than two weeks’ time.
The Hager PBM Ducati rider retains an outside chance of becoming Northern Ireland’s first British Superbike champion with three races of the 2024 season remaining at the Kent venue, which hosts the title finale from October 11-13.
Irwin clinched his eighth win of the season at Donington Park on Sunday in the Sprint race and set a new lap record.
The Carrickfergus man finished fourth in the final race of the weekend and is third in the championship, 46 points behind OMG Yamaha’s Kyle Ryde, who moved to the top of the table by only four points from reigning champion Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) after securing a Donington double.
Irwin missed out on the title by only half-a-point to his then PBM Ducati team-mate Bridewell last October, when he finished as the runner-up for the second successive year.
He will need luck on his side at Brands to emerge as the 2024 champion but Irwin still has a chance of realising his dream.
“I’ve got an open mindset about the final round so we’ll re-focus and go again,” said Irwin, who finished on the podium in third place in the first race on Saturday.
“To be in with a shout ahead of the final round is great and hats off to Jordan and Frank (Bird) for the team they’ve put together, the work and effort is non-stop.”
Reflecting on the penultimate round, Irwin said he was pleased with his results over the weekend at Donington.
“It’s been a really enjoyable weekend and we haven’t lost any ground in the title race, so we can be pleased with our results across the three races, especially the victory in the Sprint race,” he said.
“When you win a race like that, you want to follow it up with something similar, but the conditions suited our bike best in that race, rather than the final race when it was a lot cooler.
“I was having to use the tyre a lot to stay with Kyle, but eventually, I had to ease the pace but to come away with first, third and fourth means it was a good weekend.”
Team co-owner Jordan Bird said her late father Paul, who passed away last year after a short illness, would be ‘proud’ of the team’s achievements this year.
“This time last year there was a lot of uncertainty around the team and people thought we couldn’t do it without Dad at the helm, but it shows how strong a team we are,” she said.
“I think Dad would be both impressed and proud to see where we are and what we’ve done this year.”