DONINGTON PARK
19th - 21st May
The Track
Circuit length: 2.49 M / 4.02 KM
Corners: 12
Lefthand: 5
Righthand: 7
BSB Lap Record : (2022) Bradley Ray - Yamaha 1:28.597 (2022)
Heartbreak for Honda Racing UK with double DNF
Saturday, 20th May 2023
Round three of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship roared into life at Donington Park this weekend and welcomed the return of Omologato Superpole on the longer 2.49-mile GP circuit.
Glorious sunshine and a brand-new track surface provided the perfect setting for lap times to tumble heading into the first Superpole Saturday of the year. Andrew Irwin set off aboard his Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP fifth on the road to set his single flying lap. He would go on to break the 1:28 barrier for the first time of the weekend and set a lap time of 1:27.933 placing him first with nine riders still to go. By the end of the session, his best lap would place him 5th on the grid.
Building into the weekend, Tom Neave worked diligently through his program to find a comfortable setting and set a 1:28.671 in eBay Qualifying placing him 22nd on the grid.
As the lights went out, both riders made good starts off the line and by Craner Curves Andrew was up into fourth position, only to lose places by the end of lap one as other riders pressed forwards. On lap two, heading into the Melbourne loop Andrew moved to overtake Christian Iddon for 6th as he ran wide, only for the two to come together towards the corner exit causing both riders to crash. The crash was declared a racing incident and Andrew will line up 11th on the grid for race two.
Tom Neave’s race showed great promise as he too was able to climb up the order as the early laps of the race ticked by. Sadly, he retired on lap five with a technical problem. He starts race two from twentieth.
Tom Neave gets his best-ever finish in British Superbikes
Sunday, 21st May 2023
Tom Neave and the Honda Racing UK team secured his best-ever finish aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP in the first Bennetts British Superbike feature race of the weekend with a fighting eighth-place finish.
Tom turned around what was a frustrating weekend to start with into his best performance in the championship series to date, with a determined ride and a never give up attitude. He started the race from twentieth place on the grid and set about pushing forwards with fast and consistent lap times. At the time of the safety car on lap thirteen, he was running in thirteenth and closing in on those in front of him.
As the race resumed with five laps to run, the riders had bunched together and Tom seized his opportunities to rise another five places resulting in his eighth-place finish, a remarkable twelve places higher than his qualifying position.
Andrew Irwin's difficult weekend continued with a lap two crash at the Old Hairpin causing his second DNF of the event.
For the final race of the weekend, riders Tom and Andrew would start the race from twelfth and seventeenth respectively. Tom would finish the race with another points-scoring ride to fourteenth after a moment on the brakes dropped him back to twentieth at one point.
Andrew meanwhile launched off the line and gained several positions in the early laps to run as high as twelfth before he was involved in an almost identical incident to the Sprint race the day prior. Andrew was declared at fault for the incident, which he does not dispute. He was awarded three penalty points and has a three-place grid penalty at the next race. He will look to refocus ahead of the next round at Knockhill.
The team now heads back to the roads for this year's Isle of Man TT races, 29th May - 10th June, before returning to BSB for the next round at Knockhill, 16th - 18th June.
#18 Andrew Irwin
It was a really frustrating weekend, we had a lot of speed and good pace. Unfortunately, I come away with no points which is disappointing. I apologise to Honda and everyone in the team, I know it's frustrating and we should have come away with more this weekend. I can't blame anyone else apart from myself, but I am man enough now to know what I need to do to learn, grow and move forward. I apologise to Storm for my mistake and I accept responsibility for what happened. I am looking forward to a few weeks off and then we will go again at Knockhill.
#68 Tom Neave
A weekend of two halves really after race one yesterday but it was one of those things. In race two I never expected to get my best result from twentieth on the grid. I did my fastest-ever lap of the weekend, which was close to the old lap record, which even though everyone else has gone a second quicker is still better than a smack in the gob! With that in mind, I was confident I could progress again in race three. Unfortunately, I made a bit of a mistake in the middle of the race at the final corner and ran onto the grass which dropped me to the back and I had to fight up to fourteen. I can take a lot of confidence away from the weekend. Thank you to the team for keeping going with me! I like Knockhill, I’ll keep an open mind and we can go again.
| 1 | Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) | 119pts |
| 2 | Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) | 116pts |
| 3 | Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) | 114pts |
| 4 | Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) | 110pts |
| 5 | Kyle Ride (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) | 109pts |
| 6 | Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) | 70pts |
| 7 | Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) | 70pts |
| 8 | Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) | 50pts |
| 9 | Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing UK) | 50pts |
| 10 | Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) | 49pts |
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