Round seven of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship proved to be a difficult one for Glenn Irwin and the Hager PBM Ducati team as they came away with just three points from the three races at Thruxton this weekend.

The Hampshire track hasn’t been a happy hunting ground in recent years for neither Irwin nor the team and 2024 proved to be no different as the weekend started with the Ulsterman only posting 17th fastest time in the combined free practice sessions on Friday.

Yesterday saw the twice runner-up in the series start the opening race from row five of the grid but despite around two seconds covering the top 15 riders for much of the race, he couldn’t make inroads into the pack and finished in 14th place to score two points.

A front row start in today’s sprint race heralded more of a chance for Irwin but a huge crash on the first lap caused a red flag and he was unable to take part in the re-run as he was checked out in the medical centre.

Glenn was declared fit for the third and final race of the weekend but had to start from the back of the grid but despite his best efforts, could only manage a 15th place finish after the 20-lap race in the hot temperatures to salvage another point.

The results from the weekend saw him slip back to fourth in the championship standings, 47 points behind leader Tommy Bridewell, going into the next round at Cadwell Park over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Glenn Irwin: “I’ve had some big high-sides before but the second or third gear ones definitely hurt more! Starting from the front row for the Sprint race gave us a great chance of a podium but the mistake cost us and it was a missed opportunity. It made the final race 50/50 but I felt OK so gave it a go and although I was annoyed to lose a couple of places towards the end, we got some points. We have struggled with the front tyre all season, but we have more things to test ahead of the next round and some more ideas. We’re 47 points adrift of the lead but I’m not too concerned. There are plenty of races to come and plenty of points, all at good tracks for us so we’ll go again.”

Jordan Bird, Team co-owner: “When you look at the crash, to come back from that and make it on track for the final race is testament to both Glenn and the team. We got the absolute maximum out of everything in that last race. We knew Thruxton was going to be a difficult meeting for us but Glenn and the team never stopped working and we couldn’t be prouder of their efforts. We head to Cadwell next, a circuit that has been a happy hunting ground for both Glenn and the team so we’ll look to build our confidence up and get our title challenge back on track.”