GLENN IRWIN CLAIMS HIS MAIDEN BRITISH SUPERBIKE WIN AT SILVERSTONE, WHILE HOPPER AND SHAKEY CLAIM PODIUM FINISHES
- Glenn Irwin wins Race 1
- John ‘Hopper’ Hopkins claims his first podium of the season
- Shakey confirmed for the Showdown
It was a weekend of high and lows for the Ducati riders at Silverstone. Glenn Irwin won his maiden BSB race, while Hopper and Shakey both tasted podium success. But the final race proved a washout as all 3 riders crashed out in treacherous conditions.
Race 1
Moto Rapido Ducati’s John ‘Hopper’ Hopkins repeated his FP3 feat and qualified as top Ducati rider prior to race 1, lining up 8th on the grid. The Be Wiser Ducati riders Glenn Irwin and Shane ‘Shakey‘ Byrne started just behind the American in 9th and 10th respectively. Although the race had been declared wet, half of the 3.6mile long track circuit was dry, with championship leader Shakey and other top riders asking unsuccessfully for the race start to be delayed.
Hopper and Irwin both made fantastic starts to their races, and by the time the riders completed their second lap they were in 2nd and 3rd respectively, behind race leader Josh Brookes. On the 5th lap Irwin got the better of Hopper to claim 2nd, before going on to take the race lead on the following lap.
By half race distance the leading trio of Irwin, Brookes and Hopper had amassed a lead of over 7.5s over the rest of the field. In the dying laps Irwin was able to build a gap over Brookes and Hopper, crossing the chequered flag with a 3 second lead to take his maiden Superbike victory. Hopper finished just 5.6s behind to claim his first podium of the season.
A conservative start by Shakey saw him to drop down to 14th but towards the end of the race he had climbed up to 6th, posting fastest laps as the race went on. Unfortunately, Shakey crashed out on the final lap, but the championship leader took some satisfaction that his blistering laps in the closing laps saw him line up for Race 2 on pole as well as securing his place in the Showdown.
Race 2
Shakey started from pole and got off the line really well as the lights went out, going on to lead the race for the opening laps.
Following yesterday’s podium finish, Hopper was also on a charge when the lights went out, gaining an impressive 5 places in his opening lap. He continued to progress and was running as high as 2nd until tyre issues saw him start to drop down the field.
Irwin had started from the front of Row 2 but his race ended prematurely when he crashed out unhurt on Lap 2, after losing the front of his Panigale at Stowe.
By half race distance it was Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) leading James Ellison (McAMS Yamaha), with Sylvain Guintoli (Bennetts Suzuki) briefly in front of Shakey. Andy Reid (Tyco BMW) and Martin Jessop (Ridermotorcycles BMW) crashed out on Lap 9 bringing the safety car out. But just as the riders were preparing for the car to come in, Winfield’s engine blew. With oil on the track the race was red flagged and results declared from the last active lap prior to the safety car coming out.
Shakey finished 3rd to claim a valuable podium point, while Hopper scored a Top 10 finish.
Race 3
Wet and slippy conditions at Silverstone saw just 7 British Superbike riders complete Race 3, with Shakey, Irwin and Hopper all crashing out of the race on Lap 6.
Shakey maintained his 2nd place start as the race started. But behind him both Irwin and Hopper had their opening laps hindered as they had to take avoiding action after Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) crashed out as the riders turned at Copse Corner for the first time.
Shakey went on to pass Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire Tag Yamaha) to take the lead on lap 2. Shakey was then passed himself by James Ellison only for the McAMS Yamaha rider to crash out and give the lead back to Shakey. Shortly after, Brookes who had been running in 2nd behind Shakey, also crashed out taking the pressure off at the front for the Be Wiser Ducati rider.
As the riders started Lap 6, Shakey continued to lead, with Irwin up to 7th from 13th, and Hopper behind him up to 8th from 16th. But as the rain came down, more and more riders fell victim to the treacherous conditions. Shakey crashed out of the lead at Farm, and within the same lap Irwin and Hopper crashed out too.
At 2/3 race distance the result was declared. After starting in 21st position, Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) took his maiden BSB win, with just 7 riders remaining on track.
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati #67)
“It has not been the best of weekends but I am not one to dwell on negatives, and at the end of the day there has been some massive positives. It is that time of the year where it is getting colder and I am not envisaging too much more sunshine for the rest of the season. This weekend we have been forced to use the hard tyre which is something I never, never use and in the dry race earlier today we proved we can be competitive with that tyre now. So, we have done quite a lot of work with it this weekend and there is more we can do for sure. I obviously wanted to finish that race but had big problems with vision and that may have took a little bit of focus away. I am sorry to Paul Bird for two crashes, the one yesterday was massive, fortunately today’s was a bit lighter and I am fine. So, we live to fight another day and start the Showdown next weekend.”
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati #2) – DNF
“It was really, really good to get the first win. That was class. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in Race 2, I held my hands up for that, I clipped a kerb. I got a good start in Race 3 and Jason [O’Halloran] highsided and I just about got out of the way. That was that and it left me so far back on the first lap. We had a good pace but got hindered with what happened in the first corner. At the end, it was like rolling a dice. I turned in the corner and the rear end came around and highsided me on the way in. On the out lap, I honestly thought this was dangerous. But it’s a race so you’ve got to race on. It was the right decision with the red flag, otherwise there might not have been any finishers. It’s still a really positive weekend that’s one thing for sure. We’ve discovered our pace again in both conditions. I was enjoying the harder tyre for the little time I had it in race 2 but when you look at the calibre of riders that crashed there it really is a lottery game.”
John ‘Hopper’ Hopkins (Moto Rapido Team #21)
“I can’t thank the Moto Rapido Team enough for everything this year. For one reason or another we haven’t made it to the podium enough… It’s just nice to repay the guys after such hard work.”
Steve Moore (Moto Rapido Team Owner)
“I am pretty happy and positive after this weekend as is the team. It is a bit of a sad end to the weekend after such a ridiculous race, that race was a complete lottery. We will just set that race aside and not worry about it, John’s not hurt which is the main thing. We have got only a few days until Oulton Park where John is really good so we are looking forward to that. Obviously, we are happy with the way the bike is set up and the way it is working because John put it on the podium which is just a nice little boost that everyone needed. Today was a bit tricky, the earlier race today John did the best he could because we picked the wrong tyre. We should have had the harder tyre and it would have lasted a bit better. We showed we had the pace at the beginning of the race but the tyre just didn’t last. Overall an up and down weekend but pretty positive. The guys we support in the Ducati TriOptions Cup won the championship with Joe Collier. And Thomas and our Moto3 effort had two more podiums so there is a lot of silverware kicking around the garage this weekend which cheers everyone up.”
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