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Glenn Irwin is hoping fortune is on his side in the title-deciding final race in the British Superbike Championship Showdown at Brands Hatch.

Irwin won the second race of the weekend on Sunday to close the gap to team-mate Tommy Bridewell to 5.5 points with one race remaining (16:00 BST).

Bridewell finished second on the BeerMonster Ducati and a repeat result would still be enough to give the English rider the title.

Irwin, who has now won nine BSB races this year compared to Bridewell’s eight victories, is fully aware that another win may not be enough to see him crowned Northern Ireland’s first British Superbike champion and is counting on a slice of luck to aid his chances.

“All we can do is go out and win the next race and Tommy finishing second isn’t enough, so we have to – within reason – have some fun in this next one,” said the Carrickfergus man.

“I hope I don’t regret yesterday’s points but I think everything is meant to be and this story will write itself out, so we’ll see if the Yamaha boys can get in there.”

Reflecting on the opening 20-lap race, which Irwin led on every lap, the 33-year-old said he made an early decision to manage the race from the front.

“I felt really good and I could tell by Jason’s [O’Halloran] body language into Turn 1 off the start that he was looking at controlling [the race],” Irwin added.

“So, I thought if that’s what we’re going to do, I would rather do it myself. I took the lead but adapted the strategy of trying not to spin the rear out of Druids and at Hawthorn. For 10 laps I felt like I was going around like I only had 15 percent throttle to try and not do anything silly.

“After the Safety Car [when Jason O’Halloran crashed out], I respected the first lap for the tyre temperature, but I felt really good and that was one where I knew I was under pressure.

“I spoke to myself and I decided that I have to win this race if I want to win this championship, especially when I was fighting with Tommy.

“That’s what we did and it felt very much like the North West 200, which is a happy place for me. I was going around thinking of the North West 200, so that was before the Safety Car. When the Safety Car came back out again I had to tune into something else!”

Bridewell will line up in pole with Irwin on the second row in sixth position on the grid in Race 3.

OMG Yamaha’s Kyle Ryde finished third but is 30 points behind Bridewell with a maximum of 35 available for victory in the final race of 2023.

Brands Hatch BSB: Glenn Irwin hoping fortune favours the brave in title-deciding final race