Glenn Irwin heads to Oulton Park for the second round of the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship with confidence high after a victory in race three at Silverstone and the BeerMonster Ducati rider is determined to carry the momentum into the Bank Holiday weekend (April 29 – May 1).
Irwin claimed a double podium finish on his return to the PBM team at Silverstone, ending the weekend with a victory in race three at a circuit that has traditionally not been a happy hunting ground for the Italian manufacturer. However, in the past Oulton Park has proven to be a strong circuit for Ducati and the BeerMonster Ducati rider is feeling bullish about his chances next weekend despite being conscious of the level of opposition.
Irwin said: “I suppose in one sense it was nice to have the first round, not to say get it over and done with, but to understand where we were at, because going into the weekend everyone had done so little riding. To get that done and come away with a fifth, third and a first was great and puts a lot of the pre-season anxieties of what it’s going to be like to bed.
“In saying that, I was a little bit disappointed with Sunday even though we took our first win, race two got cut short with the red flag and I really thought I could mount the challenge for the win in that race. As much as we grabbed a win, I also don’t think we fulfilled the potential of the bike at Silverstone, but that said we came away third in the championship and took the team’s first win and Tommy also had great results. It was great for the team and great for morale going forward.
“Silverstone is always a double edge sword; you can’t look at it and say 'here is the form guide for the championship', but what you can do is look and say, 'Ducati’s best result last year was a seventh or eighth with Tommy and the MotoRapido team last year'. So, to come away with the V4’s first ever win on the Silverstone National circuit shows the steps forward that the bike has made from 2022 to 2023 and also shows that I have come in and done a good job straight away on my first weekend, at a track where the bike has never won at.
“We then go to the tracks like Oulton Park where it becomes more of the BSB nature tracks and where the championship will really start to sort itself out, and the bike has great history there. If we can win at Silverstone, can we win at Oulton? Of course we can. I think that’s a very fair thing to say given previous results at Oulton Park for both me and the manufacturer.
“Because of the level of competition, we always say it, we know the Yamahas are a great package and are always strong, I don’t think the Honda has shown its potential yet, I think some teams had some teething problems at round one, we know Lee has fantastic form there, it is Christian’s local circuit and has gone well there. It’s probably Tommy’s best circuit, so straight away reading through that, you can easily be at the other end of a list of nine or so riders, but we also know the bike can win races.
“We need to assess on Saturday how the F23 model reacts around Oulton Park, and then find out does the performance from Silverstone carry over, and all being well we can knuckle down and come away with three strong finishes. I want to be on the podium in all three races and I want to be winning races. That’s always the target; we know people can raise their level and the nature of BSB means you have to respect that the level is so strong.”