Having claimed the bragging rights within the BeerMonster Ducati garage at Knockhill, Glenn Irwin had to play second fiddle to team-mate Tommy Bridewell at Snetterton as he came away from Norfolk with only a single podium finish to his name.

The Northern Irishman arrived for Round 5 some 11 points adrift of Bridewell but was left playing catch up after a technical issue in free practice caused him to lose valuable set-up time with the Ducati V4R Panigale.

Nevertheless, a strong second in qualifying showed his pace and he led Saturday’s Sprint race for much of the way, but after being caught out by Bridewell's pass for the lead on the final lap, he was then bullied down to fourth by Josh Brookes and Jason O'Halloran on the run to the line.

“We had some issues at the beginning of the weekend so FP3 on Saturday morning was like my FP1, but I felt comfortable on the bike when we got to qualifying,” he explained.

“In the race, I felt strong and was surprised when the lead went up to 0.6s as I wasn’t deliberately trying to put the hammer down. When Tommy came by me though, I could see he was strong, and I learnt a lot from him.”

“I was struggling with the rear through the Bomb Hole and Coram and whilst I was defensive at the end of the straight on the penultimate lap, I wasn’t on the final lap which allowed Tommy through.

"He beat me fair and square so hats off to him although it was very frustrating not to even finish on the podium after leading for so long.”

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Irwin then struggled to get track position in Sunday’s opening race, venting some of his frustration towards O’Halloran at the end of the day, and again finished fourth when his pace suggested he should have been higher up.

Second in the final race - just 0.032s off the win in a tight dash for the line - salvaged his weekend somewhat but Bridewell’s treble has enabled him to more than double his lead, the gap between the two now 25 points.

“We could have come away with three second place finishes this weekend but, in the end, have had to settle for a second and two fourths so it hurt us in the points although we’ve managed to consolidate second in the standings.”

“I lost time in the first race battling with Jason and it would have been better if we’d have worked together but I was finally able to take a podium in the final race.

"I stayed patient when Josh was leading and when he went out, I tried to keep a little in reserve but when Tommy came by, I wanted to get back into the lead straightaway.

"It was a good battle with Tommy so hats off to him; I never gave up and am happy with the result.”