Kyle Ryde qualified on pole position for BSB Race 1 at Oulton Park, but Glenn Irwin took the victory, a result he repeated in Race 2.

Race 3

Glenn Irwin clinched a brilliant hat-trick of wins at Oulton Park – and with it the title lead – as he claimed the final British Superbike Championship race of the weekend on Monday afternoon, the Hager PBM Ducati rider just edging out Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) with Ryan Vickers (OMG Grilla Yamaha Racing) completing the podium in third.

Polesitter Iddon grabbed the lead off the line and led into Old Hall Corner from Irwin and Danny Kent (McAMS Yamaha Racing) and that was the order at the end of the first 2.692 miles with Leon Haslam (ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW), Vickers and Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing) filling fourth to sixth.

Iddon stretched his lead over Irwin to 0.6s second time around as the front six remained the same and behind them Jason O’Halloran (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) had now taken seventh from the second OMG machine of Kyle Ryde.

The lead moved out another tenth on lap three with Irwin now enjoying a second advantage over third placed Kent and although Bridewell briefly slipped back to seventh, he re-took O’Halloran going into Cascades. Vickers had also moved ahead of Haslam for fourth.

Iddon and Irwin were setting a rapid pace and were the only riders lapping in the 1’33’s and Irwin halved Iddon’s advantage on lap five with Vickers then joining them in the 33’s after setting a new fastest lap at 1’33.749.

Haslam and Bridewell were running close behind in fifth and sixth respectively with Ryde now seventh as O’Halloran slipped back to eighth. Team-mate Max Cook and Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) completed the top ten.

At the end of lap six, Bridewell took Haslam for fifth going into Lodge with Iddon’s lead at the front now above half a second once more with Kent and Vickers closing in. Indeed, a lap later just 1.6s covered the leading quartet.

Lap eight saw Peter Hickman crash out at the Avenue on the second FHO machine just as Vickers lost ground to Kent and at half race distance Iddon’s lead had crept up to three quarters of a second. Irwin still had Kent for close company, but Vickers was now 1.2s adrift in fourth although he was faring better than team-mate Ryde who pulled in to retire at the end of the tenth lap.

Irwin responded to Iddon’s attempt to break away and the gap was quickly back down to three tenths of a second and on lap 12 he took the lead for the first time, diving up the inside at the Hizzy’s chicane. The leading trio were now split by just 0.3s, a second clear of Vickers as Bridewell and Haslam did battle for fifth.

With three laps to go, the race was still anyone’s with Irwin, Iddon and Kent running nose to tail as Vickers tried his utmost to join them and with a late charge, he managed to squeeze ahead of Kent on the final lap to take third. But just as he’d done in the previous two races, Irwin kept all his rivals at bay to complete his hat-trick, 0.128s ahead of Iddon.

Haslam got the better of Bridewell and O’Halloran for fifth and then there was another five seconds back to eighth placed Brookes with Cook and Storm Stacey (LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki) rounding out the top ten.

Irwin now leads the championship standings on 74 points followed by Vickers (68), Iddon (67), Kent (64) and Ryde (55).

Race 2

Glenn Irwin made it two British Superbike Championship wins from two races at Oulton Park on Monday afternoon as the Hager PBM Ducati rider led the 12-lap Sprint race from start to finish, coming home ahead of reigning champion Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing) and Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati).

Irwin, whose win has seen him take over the championship lead by a single point, grabbed the holeshot from pole position and he led the field round at the end of the opening lap, the gap to second placed Iddon 0.398s with Bridewell, Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha), Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) and Kyle Ryde (OMG Grilla Yamaha Racing in hot pursuit.

Positions, and gaps, remained the same next time around but by lap three, the front four were edging away slightly from Brookes who had Ryde and Leon Haslam (ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW) crawling all over his back wheel.

Lap four and Irwin’s lead remained constant at 0.4s but Kent had moved ahead of Bridewell for third as the top ten continued to be covered by just 2.5s, Ryan Vickers on the second OMG machine and the two Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki’s of Jason O’Halloran and Max Cook bringing up the rear of the leading group.

Bridewell reclaimed third at the end of the lap and at the next corner, Old Hall, Ryde finally moved ahead of Brookes, and set about closing down the gap to the front four who were now a second further down the road.

Half race distance, lap six of 12, Irwin’s lead over Iddon was 0.348s but a lap later Bridewell dived up the inside of Iddon at Cascades to take over second with his ex-teammate firmly in his sights. Iddon and Kent were now third and fourth with Ryde still a second adrift in fifth. Brookes was still holding sixth from fellow Australian O’Halloran although that all changed at the end of lap eight as the duo swapped places.

With three laps to go, only six tenths of a second covered the leading four but all the time Irwin was controlling affairs from the front, just as he’d done in Sunday’s race, and he took the chequered flag by 0.352s from Bridewell with Iddon keeping Kent at bay for third and his second podium in as many days.

Ryde took fifth from O’Halloran and Brookes with Haslam, Vickers and Cook close behind to complete the top ten.

Race 1

Glenn Irwin gave the Hager PBM Ducati their first win of the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season at Oulton Park on Sunday, the Ulsterman taking the lead on lap three to eventually win by a second from Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) and Kyle Ryde (OMG Grilla Yamaha Racing).

It was Ryde’s team-mate Ryan Vickers who grabbed the holeshot from Ryde and he led into Old Hall on the opening lap but Irwin quickly split the two Yamahas and moved up into second. Ryde briefly retaliated but at the end of the first 2.692 miles the running order was Vickers, Irwin, Iddon, Ryde, Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW by TAS Racing) and Danny Kent (McAMS Yamaha Racing). Reigning champion Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing) was running in eighth.

At the end of lap two, Ryde re-took third from Iddon and further back, Kent had taken over fifth from Skinner. And a lap later, Irwin took the lead for the first time as he overhauled Vickers on the brakes into Hizzy’s with the Yamaha man losing another place at the start of lap three, Iddon regrouping to go second.

Vickers and Ryde remained in third and fourth respectively with the running order behind now Kent, Bridewell, Skinner, the Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki duo of Max Cook and Jason O’Halloran and Leon Haslam (ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW). Storm Stacy (LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki) was out though, crashing at Druids.

With a lap of 1’33.862, Irwin stretched his lead over Iddon to three quarters of a second as he started the sixth lap, and the gap remained the same next time around despite Iddon getting close to Irwin’s lap time at 1’33.877. Vickers was holding station in third as Kent and Bridewell homed in on Ryde’s back wheel, the top six now well clear of seventh-placed Skinner who was locked in battle with O’Halloran and Cook.

Lap seven saw Iddon cut Irwin’s lead to less than half a second and two laps later, half race distance, the gap remained the same although the two Ducati riders had now opened up a second advantage over third placed Vickers. Cook’s fine ride ended shortly afterwards as he crashed out, uninjured, at Shell.

The two Ducatis continued to pull clear of Vickers, who was now coming under pressure from Ryde and Bridewell and, indeed, Ryde dived up the inside of his team-mate on lap 12 at Lodge to reclaim a podium position. Iddon, meanwhile, wasn’t letting Irwin have it easy with the gap now 0.324s.

However, next time around Irwin’s lead shot up to a second after Iddon had a slide at Cascades and Ryde, one of a few riders to opt for the hard rear tyre, was now closing in on Iddon. Bridewell had also pushed Vickers back down to fifth.

Back at the front, Iddon had rallied and three laps to go, he was 0.6s behind Irwin as Ryde’s charge subsided but the Northern Irishman responded perfectly and with consistent low 34’s, he duly took the chequered flag for his first win of the season, just over a second clear of Iddon whose fine ride was rewarded with the runners up position.

Ryde held on for third from Bridewell and although Kent briefly nosed ahead of Vickers, the latter got him back to claim fifth at the chequered flag with O’Halloran, Skinner, Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) and Haslam rounding out the top ten.

Full BSB Race 1 results from Oulton Park are below.