Glenn Irwin claims British Superbike victory at Silverstone on debut race weekend with PBM Ducati

Irwin recovered from a less than ideal start from the front row on the Panigale V4R but soon began to claw back ground, moving into second place at half distance in the 30-lap race at the Northamptonshire circuit behind Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda).

The Carrickfergus man and Kent swapped places before Irwin began to edge ahead.

However, Josh Brookes was on the move and the FHO Racing BMW rider passed Kent with three laps to go as he set his sights on Irwin.

A triple winner at Silverstone last year, Irwin wasn’t to be denied and the 33-year-old added to his BSB tally, closing out his first victory of the season by a tenth of a second from Brookes, with Irwin’s PBM Ducati team-mate Tommy Bridewell snatching third.

Kent dropped back to fifth behind McAMS Yamaha’s Jason O’Halloran in the closing stages, while Andrew Irwin was forced out with a technical problem on the Honda Racing UK Fireblade.

Dublin’s Jack Kennedy finished eighth on the Mar-Train Racing Yamaha.

Race winner Irwin, who is third in the standings after round one – five points behind Brookes and two adrift of Bridewell – said: “It bodes so well for the future. I loved the bike from day one at Navarra and then we got the 2023 engine.

“We’ve still some bits to add but the bike is just fantastic. I was trying to save it but also get to the front because the first lap wasn’t as good as what I wanted.”

Aussie Brookes won the earlier race, which was cut short by three laps due to a red flag after Danny Buchan came off the SYNETIQ BMW. Buchan was ruled out of the final race as a result.

Brookes took the win ahead of Bridewell by 0.094s with third going to Irwin from Kyle Ryde (OMG Yamaha). Andrew Irwin was ninth.

Ryde won Saturday’s Sprint race from Bridewell, Brookes and O’Halloran, with Glenn Irwin fifth and brother Andrew eighth.

In Sunday’s National Superstock 1000 race, Alastair Seeley was sixth on the SYNETIQ BMW in his return to British championship racing, one place behind Donegal’s Richard Kerr (AMD Motorsport Honda).

David Allingham was ninth (Milenco by Padgett’s Honda) with Michael Dunlop 16th on the Hawk Racing Honda and Simon Reid 19th (Jackson Racing Honda).

On Saturday, Seeley finished 10th in the first race ahead of Allingham, with Kerr again fifth.

Oulton Park hosts the second round of the British Superbike Championship from April 29 to May 1.