Glenn Irwin has sent a message out to his rivals after declaring the Hager PBM Racing Team have ‘picked up where they left off’ from his title-contending 2023 campaign after showing strong pace during official pre-season testing for the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Donington Park.
The Ulsterman sticks with the nine-time BSB title-winning outfit - now under the steer of Jordan Bird, the daughter of late founder and manager Paul Bird - for 2024 after a period of uncertainty over the winter as to whether PBM would continue without its departed helmsman.
Despite PBM’s late decision to green light a single-bike entry for 2024, it comes into the new season with a strong package in the combination of the accomplished Ducati Panigale V4 R and Irwin, who finished runner-up to team-mate Tommy Bridewell last year.
Better still, even with the short turnaround time between announcing its entry and the start of pre-season testing at Donington Park, Irwin was straight back up to speed to claim the second fastest time on the combined timesheets.
“Another new season, I’m loving it - it’s been so nice to get back on the bike,” he told the BSB YouTube channel
“The anxieties you get before, which are normal when you’re a high level sportsman, because you just want success.
“Conditions weren’t great, I think it shows the level of the entire grid, the amount of wind we’ve had this weekend, the pace that has been done, I think the majority of us didn’t get a time attack in with the rain at the end. You want to race in a stacked championship and it is stacked again.
“The feeling with the Ducati is, well, we’ve continued where we left off. The bike feels good, I think we have made an improvement and though we still have some stuff to test, I love this bike, it’s my natural riding style - so it has been a blast.”
Though Irwin would end the test staring down a half-second margin to pace setter Kyle Ryde on the OMG GRILLA Racing Yamaha, he says his 1m 28.173 - set in the penultimate session - was achieved on a full tank of fuel.
“The guys were saying it was the best test we’ve ever had and I would honestly back those comments up. We have great long race pace and we didn’t do a time attack. We did a 1m 28.1 with new tyres but a full tank of fuel, so that pleases me a lot.”
