Glenn Irwin and the Hager PBM Ducati team resumed their 2024 British Superbike Championship challenge at Knockhill at the weekend, and it proved to be a challenging meeting as a best finish of eighth place at the Scottish circuit saw Glenn relinquish the title lead.

Having set the seventh fastest time in free practice, which saw mixed weather conditions, a dry qualifying session saw Glenn take a solid fifth place on the Ducati Panigale V4R, but rain returned on Saturday afternoon which delayed the start of the opening 25-lap race. When it got underway, there was a dry line all around the circuit and Glenn battled for a podium position for much of the race. However, as it entered its final third, smoke started to come from the Ducati, and he was ultimately black flagged.

The DNF and no-score put Glenn on the back row of the 27-rider grid for Sunday’s 20-lap Sprint race and with plenty of work to do around the tight 1.26-mile circuit. Held in the wet, Glenn gained eight places on the first lap and by lap three was inside the top 15 and the points. Continually moving forward, the Carrickfergus rider moved into the top ten just before half race distance and when Danny Kent crashed out of third, he was promoted up to eighth which was where he finished.

The rain had stopped for the third and final race, again scheduled for 30 laps, with Glenn starting from ninth place but the circuit was still completely wet as he completed the first lap in 11th place. Dropping back briefly to 13th, he regrouped and moved back into the top ten when, ironically, brother Andrew retired. And when Leon Haslam crashed on the 22nd lap, the race was red flagged, with Glenn awarded ninth place in the final results.

Glenn Irwin: “Conditions have been tough this weekend but we all worked hard across the three days and after a good Friday, we were in the fight for a podium position in the first race. Unfortunately, we encountered a small technical problem, and I didn’t see the black flag which put us on the back foot for Sunday’s first race. All things considered, coming from 27th to eighth was a decent result but although it gave me a better grid position for the final race, ninth was the best I could do. It means we’ve given up the title lead but we’re still in second and in a good position.”

Frank Bird, Team co-owner: “It’s been a bit of a flat weekend overall to be honest and not much to shout about but it is what it is, and it’s just been one of those weekends. We didn’t have any crashes though and scored some points so it’s been damage limitation and we’ve still come away second in the championship; it could have been worse. Glenn rode really well in weather conditions that weren’t that kind to us, so we’ll analyse what went wrong this weekend and look to bounce back at Snetterton. Thanks to all the team and sponsors for their hard work and support and we’ll move on to the next round.”

British Superbike Championship race one (25 laps)
1 Tommy Bridewell (Honda)
2 Rory Skinner (BMW) +2.572s
3 Andrew Irwin (Honda) +4.290s
4 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha) +5.078s
5 Jason O’Halloran (Kawasaki) +7.141s
6 Josh Brookes (BMW) +10.955s
DNF Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati)

British Superbike Championship race two (20 laps)
1 Rory Skinner (BMW)
2 Christian Iddon (Ducati) +4.895s
3 Tommy Bridewell (Honda) +4.909s
4 Storm Stacey (Kawasaki) +14.577s
5 Charlie Nesbitt (Honda) +15.436s
6 Fraser Rogers (Honda) +16.883s
8 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +22.655s

British Superbike Championship race three (22 laps)
1 Christian Iddon (Ducati)
2 Tommy Bridewell (Honda) +0.635s
3 Danny Kent (Yamaha) +1.728s
4 Rory Skinner (BMW) +3.158s
5 Billy McConnell (Honda) +1 lap
6 Fraser Rogers (Honda) +1 lap
9 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +1 lap

Championship Points (after four rounds)
1 Bridewell 141pts
2 Irwin 130
3 Kent 125
4 Iddon 118
5 Ryde 110
6 Haslam 88