Glenn Irwin celebrated victory in the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the season at Silverstone this afternoon, holding off the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha pairing of Kyle Ryde and Bradley Ray to open his winning account for Honda Racing UK.
Glenn Irwin had taken pole position earlier this afternoon, setting the fastest ever Bennetts BSB lap of the Silverstone National circuit and he delivered in the race too, leading the pack and overcoming the immense pressure from his Yamaha rivals. The victory comes in the 30th anniversary year of the Honda Fireblade.
The teammates had an intense battle for second place as they continued to try and make a move on Irwin. Kyle Ryde and Bradley Ray traded blows throughout the 24-lap race, but it was Ryde who had the edge at the chequered flag. The leading Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha tried to make a move for the lead on the final run to the line, but missed out by just 0.139s.
Rory Skinner held on to a strong fourth place finish for the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki team ahead of Jason O'Halloran on the McAMS Yamaha.
The battle for sixth place went down to the wire and it was Andrew Irwin who emerged ahead of Oxford Products Racing Ducati’s Tommy Bridewell and Christian Iddon on the Buildbase Suzuki.
Lee Jackson and Danny Buchan completed the top ten, whilst just missing out on the top ten was Peter Hickman and MCE Ducati riders Tom Sykes and Josh Brookes. It was a disappointing start to the season for Leon Haslam as he retired the VisionTrack Kawasaki.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Silverstone, Race 1 result:
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK)
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.139s
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) +0.327s
- Rory Skinner (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +2.019s
- Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +3.533s
- Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +5.436s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +5.766s
- Christian Iddon (Buildbase Suzuki) +6.399s
- Lee Jackson (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +7.937s
- Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +8.234s
For the full race result please click here
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Silverstone Race 1:
- Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing UK) 25
- Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 20
- Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha) 16
- Rory Skinner (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) 13
- Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 11
- Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) 10
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 9
- Christian Iddon (Buildbase Suzuki) 8