Following last week’s announcement that Tommy Bridewell will contest the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship for PBM Ducati, the team is delighted to confirm that Glenn Irwin will join him in Paul Bird’s two-rider squad.

32-year-old Irwin, from Carrickfergus in County Antrim, returns for a second stint with the Lake District-based team having raced for them from 2016 to 2018, winning two races in that time and finishing third overall in the 2018 standings.

Irwin, who won five races this season and finished runner-up in BSB 2022, will contest the 2023 series on a factory-supported Ducati Panigale V4R for the eight-times British Superbike champions.

The Ulsterman has also won on a PBM Ducati at the International North West 200 and Macau Grand Prix where he is hoping to return next season.

Glenn raced in the National Superstock 600 and British Supersport Championship, where he was a Supersport Cup champion, prior to his move into British Superbikes where he now has 178 career starts with a total of nine victories and 23 additional podiums.

As well as his two Macau Grand Prix wins, Glenn has a double Ulster Grand Prix podium to his credit and an incredible six successive North West 200 Superbike race wins. He became the fastest newcomer at the 2022 Isle of Man TT Races with a lap speed of 129.849mph but the PBM team have no plans to contest the 2023 event.

Glenn Irwin
“Re-joining PBM after four years apart is something I’m relishing as I feel I’ve improved as a rider and as a person during that time. The experience away has taught me a lot and to be coming back to the most successful team in the paddock is a fantastic opportunity. I’m in a stronger position now and we both know how each other works so the timing is perfect. I want to win, and Birdy wants to win and with Tommy as a very strong teammate, it will drive us all on. I’ve proved I can challenge for the title this year, so the plan is to go one better next season.”  

Paul Bird, Team Owner
“With Glenn joining Tommy, I think we have an unbelievable line up for 2023 with the riders that finished second and third in this year’s championship. It’s great to have Glenn back as we have had a lot of success together in the past and he’s probably left what I would regard as one of the best, if not the best, team in the paddock to come to us. After a disappointing season for PBM, it will be good to be back at the sharp end.”

Starting from P3, Bautista took the lead halfway through the first lap but was forced to go wide at corner 9 to avoid contact with Razgatlioglu (Yamaha), who crashed. The Spanish rider's comeback came between the fourth and eighth lap when he first overtook Lecuona (Honda), Rea (Kawasaki), and Bassani (Ducati) before easily defending the first position.

Rinaldi started well from the eighth position and after two laps he was already in fifth. His race pace, however, did not allow him to stay with the podium group.

P1 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #19)
“I am really very happy because the team managed to give me a very competitive bike. I want to thank them because they have done a fantastic job that has allowed me to improve my feeling a lot compared to yesterday. I was lucky in the first lap because Toprak got really close to me before he crashed. Yes, of course, it is an important victory. But I remain focused.”

P5 – Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“This morning the feeling was much better than yesterday even though we knew we were still missing something compared to the podium group. At the start of the race, I felt I was quite consistent but after a few laps, I started to have some difficulties. I tried not to make any mistakes to at least finish fifth. All in all a positive result, given the circumstances, but it is clear that the aim is to take a significant step forward tomorrow.”

WorldSSP

After an incisive start, Nicolò Bulega (P11) was unable to maintain a sufficient race pace to stay with the podium group.

Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WSSP #11)
“A quite complicated race. We are struggling a bit to be as fast as we have always been. We need to find the set-up that allowed me to go fast at the start of the season. I have great confidence in the team.”

Francesco Bagnaia finished with the 11th fastest time overall in Friday's free practice for the Malaysian GP, the penultimate round of the 2022 MotoGP season held this weekend at Sepang International Circuit. As he finished eleventh after a dry FP1, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider closed second FP2 held in mixed conditions after a heavy tropical downpour hit the circuit during the Moto2 session.

After a first part of the session held in the wet, MotoGP riders were able to mount slicks on the final minutes of FP2, but the track conditions did not allow changes to the combined timesheets, which therefore remained unchanged from the morning. Jack Miller, fourth in FP2 despite still sore after last Sunday's crash at Phillip Island, also finished 14th on the first day. The Australian rider, as well as his teammate, did not make the time attack in the morning's dry FP1, preferring to continue running on used tires, and hopes to find favourable weather conditions to try to improve tomorrow morning in FP3.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 11th (2:00.770)
“I am quite calm after this first day, despite finishing only 11th, three thousandths from the top ten. Unfortunately, on the last lap, I made a mistake coming out of Turn 9, losing a lot of time. I hope to be able to find the right conditions in tomorrow's FP3 to try to get into the top ten. It will be important here, especially if qualifying should be wet. In any case, I am positive: our potential in the wet has grown a lot, and that makes me optimistic.”

Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 14th (2:01.034)
“I knew it wasn't going to be easy because the bruises I got on my leg in the Phillip Island crash are in a place where I put a lot of pressure riding the bike, and I feel a lot of pain. In any case, I was able to improve lap by lap. This morning we didn't try the time attack, so after the rain fell this afternoon, we are out of the top ten. Hopefully, tomorrow morning's FP3 will be dry and will allow us to improve our time. In general, I feel comfortable on the bike. I am just a little worried about Sunday's race which will be physically very demanding.”

The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will be back on track tomorrow at 10:50am local time (4:50am in Italy) for FP3, while qualifying for the Malaysian GP will be held from 3:05pm local time (9:05am in Italy) after FP4.  

Francesco Bagnaia will have his first match point for the World Title at the Sepang International Circuit, a Malaysian track located not far from Kuala Lumpur, which this weekend will host the Malaysian GP, the penultimate round of the 2022 MotoGP season.

The Italian rider of the Ducati Lenovo Team took the lead in the overall standings last Sunday at Phillip Island in Australia, closing a gap that, after the German GP at Sachsenring, was of 91 points against Quartararo. Thanks to his third place in Phillip Island, Bagnaia is now in first place with a 14-point lead over the Frenchman and 27 points over Aleix Espargaro. Therefore, the race in Sepang, which returns to host MotoGP after a three-year absence due to the pandemic, will be crucial for the Italian rider. The Malaysian track has seen Ducati triumph on six occasions so far, while the Borgo Panigale manufacturer has scored nine podiums at Sepang. The most recent was Andrea Dovizioso's third place in 2019.

The Malaysian GP will also be important for Jack Miller from a Championship perspective. In fact, the Australian rider that arrives at Sepang after an unfortunate home Grand Prix at Phillip Island can still aim for third place in the overall standings.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st (233 points)
“I am happy to be back racing in Malaysia. Compared to Phillip Island, where we were last week, the temperatures here will be much higher, and with this tropical weather, it is also difficult to predict whether the race will be dry or wet. In any case, I'm calm: in Australia, where we struggled more than at other tracks, we fought for the victory, while Sepang is on paper a slightly “friendlier” track, so there are all the conditions to be able to do well. Now we are first in the Championship, and we have to stay focused more than ever. The approach, however, does not change: we have to think about doing our job well, as always, to try to get ready for Sunday's race.”

Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 5th (179 points)
“After last Sunday's race in Australia, unfortunately, I can no longer aim for the title, but I am still in the fight for third place in the standings, as Espargaro and Bastianini also failed to capitalize in Phillip Island. So the goal this weekend will be to try to recover as many points as possible and get back into the fight for the top positions. Last Sunday, we really had the potential to do well, as it had happened in the last GPs of this second part of the season, but unfortunately, I was knocked out of the race and it wasn’t my fault.  I feel comfortable riding the Desmosedici GP and the sensations continue to be positive, so I am confident that I can do well here in Sepang, where I have been fast in the past. My goal is to finish the last two races I have left with the Ducati Lenovo Team in the best possible way.”

The Malaysian GP will officially kick off on Friday, 21st October at 10:50am local time (4:50am in Italy) with the first free practice session, while the race will be held on Sunday, 23rd October at 3pm Malaysian time (9am in Italy) over a 20-lap distance.  

It was the final round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this weekend. Tommy Bridewell and the Oxford Products Ducati Racing had a strong end to the season with a fourth, fifth and fourth in the three races. Tommy also secured a fantastic third place in the overall Championship standings, marking another successful season with the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team.

The weather was mixed again this weekend so track time was limited, Friday was half wet half dry, and just not worth going out there too much and risking doing damage during practice.

Tommy got through to the Superbikes qualifying two session and qualified for the opening race on the front row, in third. Come the race he had a steady start and had to make some progress through the pack, the leaders had made a break at this point and Tommy had to settle for fourth.

For race two he started from second place on the grid, but disaster struck just before the warm-up lap and a small technical problem saw him being wheeled off the grid. The team quickly found the issue and Tommy was forced to start from pit-lane, re-joining the pack many seconds off the last man. He got his head down and focussed on the job in hand, picking off rider after rider, lap after lap. His determination got him through to fifth place by the end of the race, a great achievement.

For the final race of the year, he was placed in fifth position, another steady start saw the leaders make a break. Tommy was fighting hard with Peter Hickman on the closing laps, and he gained another fourth place and third in the Championship standings.

This was the last race for Tommy and the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team after a great four and a half years together. The team would like to wish Tommy all the best for his future and thank him for his time with them. Also, a huge thank you to Oxford Products and all our other loyal sponsors. The team are looking forward to a strong 2023 with new riders.

Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati #46)
2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship – 3rd
“It was another strong weekend; it was good to end the season with three good solid race results. I was gutted not to get any race wins, but we did have good strong race pace. My highlight was starting from pit lane and managing to get up to fifth place!

It was nice to end the season on some strong results. As most are aware it was my last race with the team, I’d like to wish the team every success in their future and a huge thank you for everything they have done for me.” 

Iain Hopcroft
Team Manager, Oxford Products Racing Ducati
“It was another great way to end the season, the team have performed so well this year with a great performance in the last three races at Brands Hatch. The team can’t thank Tommy enough for the last four and half years, it’s been a lot of fun and podium pudding!

For 2023 we have the exciting news starting our Supersport challenge, alongside a strong Superbike rider.”