Sunday

Honda Racing UK has made an extremely confident start to its home round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) and Quattro British Supersport Championship at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire, just five miles from the team’s base in Louth.

From the brief evening test session on Friday, both Tommy Bridewell and Andrew Irwin have been much closer to the ultimate pace in BSB. Both of the Honda riders then came through the Free Practice sessions fast enough to avoid the first knock-out Qualifying session and go straight into the pole position Shootout.

This was to the team’s advantage after both of the Honda Fireblades suffered damage in the final 10-minute practice before qualifying began. A big effort by the team ensured that both of the bikes were back together and ready for their flying laps, with Bridewell qualifying third and Irwin 11th.

The first race of the weekend followed swiftly afterwards, with Bridewell getting up to second place and looking ready to reel in the leader until he crashed out of the race. Irwin, meanwhile, got a lightning start and was soon up to sixth place, which became fourth with attrition, and then with two laps to go he made a decisive pass to take his first podium finish of the 2025 BSB campaign.

In the Supersport class, defending champion Jack Kennedy ended Friday’s first Free Practice session at the top of the timesheets, then set the second fastest lap in the second session before qualifying in third place. His team-mate Dean Harrison, fresh from running at the Classic TT earlier in the week, claimed sixth place on the grid, lining up immediately behind Kennedy.

After dropping back to fifth on the first lap of the race, Kennedy battled through into third place and was chasing down the leaders when he overshot and briefly dropped to 12th place. A tremendous fightback ride ensued, seeing the five-time Supersport champion use all his experience to finish in an eventual eighth place, two spots behind Harrison.

However, Kennedy also set a new lap record in the race, clocking 1m 28.267s for the 2.2-mile (3.54 km) Full Circuit, which merits pole position for Monday’s Feature Race.

Tommy Bridewell

“We have been stronger this weekend, the bike is working better for definite and we are extracting absolutely every ounce and more out of the package. It was a silly little crash in FP3, but to bounce back on the front row of the grid meant that we hit our target. I’m riding at 110 per cent. The support here is fantastic, as ever, and I’m disappointed to have crashed out of the race but I’d sooner pull the handlebars off the bike, and give every ounce out of me, and sleep well knowing there was nothing more I could do. If I knock it back slightly we’ve still got podium pace but I had a go, I went all in, and I caught a kerb and that was that. So we’ll go again tomorrow, but I’m proud to have pushed as hard as I did today, pushed my rivals to lap record pace, so let’s see tomorrow.”

Andrew Irwin

“I got a mega start and felt really comfortable running at that pace early on. Then Charlie (Nesbitt) crashed and Tommy crashed and I thought ‘hang on, we could be on for a podium here,’ and I had to keep going, I just can’t give up on this one. And I just sat behind Christian (Iddon) and with two laps to go I thought maybe he won’t defend as much and I’m delighted to get here. I haven’t raced at Cadwell Park for two years, so to get on the podium here at what’s been my worst track ever – if someone ever asks me if I have a bad track I always think of here – so it’s nice to change that! A massive thank you to Honda and everybody who’s supported me and stuck behind me. Everyone knows it’s not been the easiest road, but I’m keeping the faith and let’s keep going.”

Jack Kennedy

“It was a frustrating end to a promising race. I got a good start, sitting in fourth place, then pulled a neutral and dropped back to fifth so I said to myself that I need to regroup here and get myself back into this race. I managed to get back to third place, I had a good pace and felt really comfortable and was making inroads to the two leaders and I had the pace and the feeling but unfortunately the rear wheel picked up into Mansfield corner and when it landed it snapped a little bit and my foot touched the gear selector again and got another neutral. That was a shame, I had to run off the track and back down, then managed to salvage eighth place in the last four laps. To be honest I’m not all that bothered about setting a new lap record right now, I’d rather have been on the podium tasting the champagne.”

Dean Harrison

“Practice went okay to be fair, the times were good, I was just a bit frustrated in FP2 because I didn’t have space on the track. We found that space in Qualifying, though, so that was okay. Outright overall lap time is okay. In the race, I’m struggling to pass people a little bit. I think that’s what we need to focus on tomorrow. We were sixth today, the first Honda home, and only one place off my best result of the season, so not too bad. Unfortunately my lap times weren’t great, I was struggling a bit, so I’m 11th on the grid for the Feature race, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Team Manager Havier Beltran

“We’ve had everything thrown at us on Saturday – it almost feels like an entire season in one day – but I think that we arrived at Cadwell with confidence and that has been our strength. We’ve run strongly from the first track session and the pace is clearly there in both BSB and Supersport. The team had a big job to do in rebuilding both Fireblades in the minimal time available between FP3 and Qualifying, and they rose to the challenge. Obviously, it’s disappointing for Jack and Tommy not to have reached the podium when they had the performance to do so, but equally there are very few people in the paddock who haven’t been pulling for Andrew to reach the podium this year and I’m delighted by his success.”

Monday

The seventh round of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship and Quattro British Supersport Championship at Cadwell Park delivered the first BSB victory of 2025 for Honda Racing amid a deluge of trophies at the team’s home track.

Despite falling in Sunday’s opening BSB race, Tommy Bridewell earned a second place starting position for Race 2 with team-mate Andrew Irwin lining up in fourth position.

A clean getaway saw the two Honda Fireblades riding in line astern in second and third places, with Irwin holding the early advantage, before Bridewell made his way past. Soon afterwards, the championship leader, Bradley Ray, crashed out of the race lead, promoting the Hondas to first and second.

The two Fireblades ran nose-to-tail throughout the race until the final corner, when Irwin was passed by defending BSB champion Kyle Ryde. Out in front, Bridewell deservedly scored his first win of the season after months of hard work for himself and the team, while Irwin’s third place completed the team’s first double podium finish since Brands Hatch in July 2024.

The final BSB encounter of the weekend began with Irwin, holder of the fastest lap in Race 2, starting from pole position, with Bridewell also on the front row in third place. A lightning start carried Irwin to the early lead, but by the end of the lap the two Hondas were running second and third, with Irwin to the fore.

As the race progressed, Irwin and race leader, defending BSB champion Kyle Ryde, pulled away in a private battle while Bridewell circulated in a lonely third place, well clear of the rest of the field. Irwin dodged and feinted but could not find a way past, settling instead for second place, with Bridewell finishing third.

In the Supersport class, defending champion Jack Kennedy claimed pole position, having shattered the lap record for the category in the opening Sprint race. Gear selection issues had pegged him back to eighth at the finish on Sunday, but no such issues afflicted his Honda CBR600RR on Monday.

From the outset, a fast and furious battle between the top five riders saw the order changing on every lap, but in the closing stages Kennedy worked his way through and he finished on the podium in second place. More importantly, the five-time Supersport champion strengthened his position in the title race after leading his nearest rivals home.

It was an equally impressive performance from five-time Isle of Man TT winner Dean Harrison, who started in 11th place. Despite dropping back to 13th in the opening laps, the Yorkshireman dug deep and passed rider after rider to finish in seventh place in a hugely impressive ride. Both championships will return to action at Donington Park on September 5-7.

Tommy Bridewell

“A good weekend, I guess. A tough weekend, but it seems like the bike’s made a step. Andy (Irwin) had a great weekend, so that’s good to see – he’s brimming with confidence so it helps push me. Neither of us wants to get beaten by our team-mate, so it pushes me hard. It’s tough around here at Cadwell but no excuses. My emotions are odd, really. We won today, but I expect to be winning more regularly and I expect it to be more consistent. It’s tough because at the minute I’m happy – I’m super happy! We’ve won a BSB race today, and that’s hard to do at the best of times. I’m happy for Honda, but I’m not sure if we’ve turned the corner yet. Let’s see what else we can do for the rest of the year. We need to keep working, that’s for sure.”

Andrew Irwin

“Some races you’re disappointed not to win but today I’m not. I put 100% in until the end of the weekend, and we’ve got three podium finishes to show for it. It’s been a solid weekend. Honda has done a mega job, I keep ranting and raving about it, and congratulations to Tommy for the win. Five podiums for the team is pretty special. I feel great when I’m riding, I feel like I’m getting back to where I was four or five years ago, and I feel like I could be doing this every weekend. It’s nice to have that feeling again: it’s nice to have that belief.”

Jack Kennedy

“We finally got the job done: back on the podium, back in with the front group. It was a dogfight out there, really! I tried my best to try and make some passes but everyone knows it’s really difficult to pass around here. I really had to ride the wheels off the CBR600RR, think outside the box and just try and get one over the bigger bikes. Second place on the Honda around here feels like a win at this track, I’m absolutely delighted. We got some good points over my championship rivals as well. So, massive credit to my team and big thanks to Honda UK. I’m absolutely delighted with that one.”

Dean Harrison

“All in all, I think it’s been a positive weekend. We’ve had good pace all weekend and it’s not quite the result that we wanted, we really want to be a little bit further forward, but we’re battling in that lead group. We pulled them back in today. It was a shame in the first race that the lap times are so tight for grid position because a tenth of a second covers about six grid positions. I was a little bit disappointed to have started where I did, but the team at Honda has been unreal as usual, and we’ll roll on to Donington. I think that we should come to Cadwell twice a year; it’s an amazing track and I’ve never seen so many people here. It’s a special place and one of the circuits that I really like coming back to.”

Team Manager Havier Beltran

“I am incredibly pleased with the successes that Honda Racing has achieved at Cadwell Park, and proud of the way in which we have all dug in when we needed to. We had good speed and the team moved heaven and earth to repair the bikes at times, while our riders delivered strong results under pressure in both classes. I think that this weekend really moves the bar for our BSB programme and our expectations for the rest of the season. We know what we can achieve now, and how to get there. In Supersport, Jack strengthened his title hopes, while Dean’s ever-improving short track racecraft was very apparent. We can feel very positive as we look ahead from here.”