SNETTERTON

4th - 5th SEPTEMBER

The Track

Circuit length: 1.952 mi (3.123 km)

Corners: 12

Lefthand: 5

Righthand: 7

BSB Lap Record : Shane Byrne - Ducati 1:47.143 (2017)

Pole Positions all round for Honda Racing UK

Saturday, 4th September 2021

Honda Racing UK's Glenn Irwin and Tom Neave set the pace at Snetterton today in both the British Superbike and National Superstock qualifying sessions claiming consecutive Pole positions aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. 
 

Leading the way throughout Friday's practice sessions topping the combined times, Honda's Superstock rider Tom had a sensational qualifying to set a Pole position lap time of 1:49.078, unofficially smashing the lap record on a Superstock machine at the Norfolk circuit. 

Meanwhile in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Glenn claimed Pole position with a lap time of 1:46.354. For the afternoon’s 12-lap race he had a blistering start off the line and was holding the lead until the fifth lap when he made a mistake and crashed out of the race. Unhurt from the fall, Glenn will be back in action for tomorrow’s two Superbike races. 

Glenn’s teammates Ryo Mizuno and Takumi Takahashi had a strong showing with Takumi finishing fourth in Q1 and going through into Q2 to qualify 15th. Dropping back during the opening laps of the race, he fought back through the pack to come home 14th, his best finish this season. While Ryo made progress from his starting position of 21st to finish just shy of the points in 16th place. 

Tom Neave dominates aboard the Fireblade at Snetterton

Sunday, 5th September 2021

Today in glorious conditions at Snetterton, Tom Neave took a dominant victory in the 12-lap Pirelli National Superstock Championship race, making it three wins from three aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP and further extending his championship lead by 24 points. 

Proving to be the man to beat all weekend Tom topped the timesheets in practice, qualifying and dominated the race from start to finish at the 2.96-mile circuit. Starting the race from Pole position Tom momentarily dropped a place, however he regained the lead at Turn 4 where he stayed for the remainder of the race, crossing the line 2.084 seconds ahead of Taylor Mackenzie in second place. Smashing the lap record at the Norfolk circuit not once, but twice during the race Tom holds the new record of 1:49.516. 

Meanwhile it's been a frustrating weekend for the teams' Bennetts British Superbike Championship riders with Glenn coming home 14th and 11th in today's races, retaining his seventh place in the championship standings with 161 points. Takumi Takahashi was not able to better his 14th place result from yesterday finishing today's two races 21st and 17th, while Ryo Mizuno retired from Race 2 and was not able to start the last race of the day due to a technical issue. 

The team now has a quick turn around ready for the next round of the championship which takes place next weekend at Silverstone's National Circuit on 10-12 September. 

#2 Glenn Irwin

I think what we can take away from Snetterton is once again I’ve shown that myself and Fireblade have the ability during a qualifying session and what we can do in terms of outright pace. Maybe it’s something since yesterday’s crash, but today we had no pace whatsoever. It’s frustrating but we’ve gathered data and information with my teammates to try to narrow things down on what’s hindering us at the moment. I hope we can go to Silverstone having found some solutions. 

#13 Takumi Takahashi

I struggled in today's races and just didn't have the same feeling as I did in qualifying and yesterday's race, so I wasn't able to better my position. I'm still struggling, but I'll be ready for a good result at the next round at Silverstone.

#88 Ryo Mizuno

Today was a really unlucky day for me. I had to retire from Race 2 due to a problem, and in Race 3 I had a problem before the start and couldn't start the race, which was a frustrating end to the day. Trouble can happen to anyone, so I'm going to refocus and try again next week at Silverstone.

#68 Tom Neave

That was probably the best fun I've had on a bike all year, normally you only pull point-one of a second each lap, but as soon as I got that two second lead on lap four or five, I enjoyed riding the Fireblade and hitting my points. Everything was working great, and I just reminded myself why I love racing bikes and why I do this. We knew coming into the weekend we can be strong here, we won here last year and we're on a winning streak at the moment. You do put pressure on yourself and my rivals have been with me all weekend, so I've had to be on my A-game, but to pull it off in that style is exactly how I wanted to win! 

Bennetts British Superbike Championship Standings

1 - Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 399 pts

2 - Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 293 pts

3 - Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 261 pts

4 - Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 239 pts

5 - Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) 224 pts

6 - Danny Buchan ( SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad) 174 pts

7 - Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) 161 pts

8 - Lee Jackson (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) 154 pts

9 - Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) 149 pts

10 - Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) 141 pts