SILVERSTONE
7th - 9th APRIL
The Track
Circuit length: 3.66M / 5.891 KM
Corners: 6
Lefthand: 2
Righthand: 4
BSB Lap Record : Bradley Ray - Yamaha 53.102 (2022)
The season starts with sunshine at Silverstone
Saturday, 7th April 2023
In glorious sunshine, the Honda Racing UK team fired its 2023 season into life at round one of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Silverstone.
Lining up on the grid for race one of the Pirelli National Superstock series, road racing riders Nathan Harrison and John McGuinness MBE lined up 20th and 30th respectively after qualifying within 0.4 seconds of each other. As their races unfolded, both riders found themselves running midpack in amongst a large group of other road racers, all chasing valuable bike time ahead of the International Road Race season. John brought his Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP home eight places higher than he qualified to finish 22nd. After encountering problems with his quickshift, Nathan would finish the race in 24th.
Meanwhile in the premiere class, Andrew Irwin had a challenging qualifying after an early crash in FP2 cost him valuable track time and would ultimately result in a 14th place grid slot for the BikeSocial sprint race. Ever the racer however, he moved swiftly forward during the race to finish top Honda rider in 8th position and will line up for race 2 on Sunday in 13th.
Tom Neave’s Saturday, although frustrating, had several positives as after qualifying in 22nd he was running as high as 15th and set a personal best lap time identical to his teammate. Unfortunately, his race would end prematurely as he encountered a technical issue on lap 13.
In other Honda news, the Honda Fireblade in Superstock trim finished in the top 6 positions of the Pirelli National Superstock race with riders, Alex Olsen, Franco Bourne and Billy Mcconnell occupying the podium positions in first, second and third.
Sunday at Silverstone results in points scored
Sunday, 9th April 2023
Sunday’s action at the 1.64 mile National circuit at Silverstone was fast and frantic for the Honda Racing UK team in both the Bennetts British Superbike and Pirelli National Superstock races.
The first race of the day saw superbike riders Andrew Irwin and Tom Neave line up on the grid in 13th and 14th respectively after setting identical lap times in the first race of the weekend on Saturday. Aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, both riders were able to move forward throughout the race after dropping places at the start. With their heads down they set about pushing forward and carving through the midpack before the race was red-flagged at 28 laps distance. Andrew finished in 9th position and Tom was able to equal his best ever finish in the superbike class with a strong ride to 11th place.
In the Superstock race, John McGuinness MBE and Nathan Harrison started with just one row separating them in 25th and 29th. Both riders lost positions off the start as they battled with fellow road racers Conor Cummins & Michael Dunlop. Sadly three laps into the race, Nathan pulled into the pits after encountering a technical issue, forcing his retirement from the race.
John, however, was able to keep a fast and consistent pace throughout the race, a good sign of things to come on the roads this year. He ended the race in 23rd position, two places higher than his qualifying. In both races this weekend John was able to move forward from his qualifying position, positive signs of his readiness for the TT.
Race three for the Superbikes was a frenetic affair, with four different leaders at different stages including fellow Honda Fireblade rider Danny Kent who led for five laps. Honda Racing UK rider Tom Neave was able to battle through into the points to finish 14th.
Showing strong pace throughout and running with the front group for the majority of the race Andrew Irwin ran as high as 7th before encountering a technical problem with just two laps to go.
Amongst the support classes, it was a hugely successful day of racing for fellow Fireblade riders in the Pirelli National Superstock championship as for the second race in a row the ‘Blade’ finished in the top five positions. In just his second race in the series, rider Franco Bourne secured the first victory of his maiden season ahead of new lap record holder Dan Linfoot and race one winner Alex Olsen.
The Honda Racing UK team now has just under two weeks before heading to Round 2 of the championship at Oulton Park on 29th April - 1 May.
#18 Andrew Irwin
It was a positive weekend, for sure I wanted to have stronger results as 8th and 9th isn’t what we came here for, but there are positives. After Friday when we lost lots of time due to the crash it was difficult, but come race three I was feeling really good on the bike. It was disappointing not to finish but the feeling was there and let's keep this ball rolling and try to take steps forward at Oulton Park. Thanks to the team as always for their support and we will bounce back.
#68 Tom Neave
All in all I can’t complain, It was no secret that coming into the weekend I was coming here injured and having missed some testing. I came in with an open mind and the one objective was to stop on the bike and the second was to get some good point-scoring positions and finish the races. It was unfortunate to not finish race 1, but I was in a point-scoring position when it happened so I would have achieved all my goals if we’d finished. There’s work to be done and we can improve moving on to Oulton Park. I’ve equalled my best ever result on the Superbike at round 1 this year so the only way is up from here!
#3 John McGuinness MBE
For me, I think every box is ticked and it’s a great start to the season. It's been dry, I’ve rode two sensible 22 lap races and the bikes never missed a beat for the whole of the weekend. I love working with the team which bodes well for what they’ve employed me for! I’ve also done my best with all of the team and tried to give as much input as I can with the bikes, the guys and everything. I’m in a much better place now than I was last year as I’ve done a lot more mileage, I’m more bike fit and I understand the bike more. Last year there was quite a bit of pressure too, whereas this year, I just pop the lid on and ride my bike!
#15 Nathan Harrison
It’s been a frustrating Sunday that's for sure as I felt something wasn't quite right with the bike early in the race and had to retire. It’s not ideal, but I have to take the positives from the weekend and look ahead to Oulton Park when we go again. I qualified really well and could run with the roads boy's lap times all day long. So you know, I’ll keep my head up, keep working hard and go again soon.
| 1 | Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) | 48pts |
| 2 | Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) | 46pts |
| 3 | Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) | 43pts |
| 4 | Kyle Ride (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha | 39pts |
| 5 | Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) | 35pts |
| 6 | Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team) | 30pts |
| 7 | Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) | 26pts |
| 8 | Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing UK) | 26ts |
| 9 | Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing UK) | 15pts |
| 10 | Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) | 15pts |
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