Third place in the BSB title race for brave Irwin

Glenn Irwin and the Hager PBM Ducati team came up just short in their quest for the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at the final round at Brands Hatch this weekend which saw them end the season in third place overall.

Both Glenn and the team had a good start to the weekend when they topped Friday’s free practice sessions but fine weather gave way to mixed conditions on Saturday when a technical problem caused the Carrickfergus rider to crash out of the qualifying session.

That put him back on the fifth row of the grid for Saturday’s 20-lap race when wet, autumnal conditions were the order of the day. Irwin worked his way through the field and was challenging for the podium but just when third place was within his reach, he crashed out on lap 15.

With 70 points available on Sunday, the title remained mathematically within his grasp and he started the 12-lap Sprint race from the front row with conditions sunny but cool. A sluggish start saw him drop back to tenth on the opening lap and although he soon fought his way up to eighth, he had to settle for tenth at the chequered flag with any hopes of the PBM team retaining their title gone.

Starting the final 20-lap race of the year from the front row again, a much better start saw Glenn work his way to the front of the pack but with some ferocious racing between the leading group, he found himself shuffled back and eventually took the chequered flag in seventh place.

With eight wins and two additional podiums, it meant Glenn ended the year in third overall with the title going the way of Kyle Ryde by one point from 2023 champion Tommy Bridewell. 

Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati #2)
“It’s nice to end the season in third in the championship and that makes it two second places and a third in the last three seasons. Bike racing has a lot of highs and lows, and we didn’t have much of the middle ground this year with a few big crashes along the way, some of which weren’t of our doing. Even this weekend we’ve encountered bad luck firstly with a technical issue in qualifying and then me being unwell ahead of this morning’s race, but we can learn from all of it for 2025 and we can take a lot of positives from the season. We’ve won eight races, only one less than Kyle, and had three wins at the North West 200 and that’s no mean feat for a team that didn’t exist until March. Full credit to Jordan and Frank Bird for getting the team together and we’ve grown as individuals and as a team this season. Finishing third overall in BSB is something we can be proud of and the series has again delivered and we’ll be back for more next year. I’ve no doubt I’ll win the title one year!”

Frank Bird Team Co-owner
“That year went quick! If someone had offered us P3 at the beginning of the year, we’d have taken it, especially with everything coming together so late and it being the first year without Dad. I couldn’t be prouder of Jordan in terms of how she’s worked this year for the good of the team and with eight BSB wins and three at the North West 200, it’s been a successful season. Glenn rode his heart out this weekend, as he has done all year, and after a difficult mid part of the season, and again here at Brands with the problems on Saturday and then him being unwell, we recovered brilliantly. It’s been a stressful season at times but both Jordan and I have loved every second of it and we’ve learnt a lot which will stand us in good stead for 2025 so a big thanks to all our sponsors, partners, team and everyone connected to the team.”