The Be Wiser Ducati team ended their 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship campaign atBrands Hatch today with Glenn Irwin ensuring it was a successful conclusion to the season as he clinched third place overall in the final championship standings.

After his superb win in yesterday’s opening race, the 28 year old from Carrickfergus lined up in third place on the front row for the opening 20-laprace where the sunshine of the previous day had been replaced by damp and dismal conditions.

However, although he completed the first lap in seventh place on the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R, he soon found himself slipping downthe order and at one stage he was as low as 12th. The Ulsterman soon regrouped, however, and was rewarded for his efforts with a solid seventhat the chequered flag.

The result saw him line up in 12th place on the fourth row for the final race of the season held in heavy rain but a poor start left him with plentyof work to do. A chassis change to the machine didn’t work either resulting in him being down in 17th in the early stages, although he was up to15th but pulled in to retire just before half race distance.

Despite Sunday not going to plan, his race win yesterday was ultimately enough for him to clinch third place overall in the series, his best resultin the three years of contesting the championship.

Younger brother and team-mate Andrew, meanwhile, started the day’s first race around the 2.43-mile GP circuit from second place, alongside Glenn onthe front row, and was challenging for a podium when his hopes were dashed as he crashed at Graham Hill Bend on lap two bringing his race to anearly and abrupt end.

It meant he had to start the second race from the fifth row of the grid, but a good start saw him move up to tenth at the completion of the first lapwhich was where he remained until half race distance when he was pushed back to 11th. He retook tenth on lap 12 but unfortunately crashed out forthe second time when he fell on the penultimate lap. Despite the unhappy end to his season, the 24 year old finished in 17th overall after onlycontesting two thirds of the season.

Glenn Irwin:

“After yesterday’s race win, it’s disappointing to end my term with PBM and Be Wiser Ducati with only a seventh place finish to show for my efforts and it was especially frustrating as we’d made a chassis change which unfortunately didn’t work out in the way that we’d hoped. The positive is that the race win on Saturday gave me enough of a buffer to clinch third place overall, something which I’m over the moon with. Retiring from my final race with PBM was a real shame but a massive thank you to them for everything they’ve done for me over the last three years.”

Andrew Irwin:

“We had good pace in the wet today and in the first race I felt comfortable andconfident that I could have stood on the podium but unfortunately I made a small mistake and crashed out. Conditions for the second race were worse and from having an awesome bike in race one, I had very little grip at all and the crash in race two came out of nowhere. It’s not how I wanted to end my time with PBM and Be Wiser Ducati but I’m very grateful for the opportunity and I can’t thank them enough. It’s arguably the best time in the paddock and they’ve been great since day one, so I wish them well for 2019.”

Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator:

“It’s been a disappointing way to end the season but, on the plus side, it was nice for Glenn and the team to clinch third place overall. Obviously, you always want to win but third is a good result and a small bonus all things considered. It’s just a shame the day went the way it did after the race win yesterday but conditions were very difficult today and for Andrew to have a double DNF was a great pity. Both riders had a good Saturday but a poor Sunday but that’s the way racing goes sometimes so with a new project to look forward to in 2019, we’ll regroup and come back fighting.”

Bennetts British Superbike Championship Race Two (20 laps)

1 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
2 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
3 Jason O’Halloran (Honda)
4 Richard Cooper (Suzuki)
5 Christian Iddon (BMW)
6 Peter Hickman (BMW)
7 Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)
DNF Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)

Bennetts British Superbike Championship Race Three (20 laps)

1 Richard Cooper (Suzuki)
2 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
3 Jake Dixon (Kawasaki)
4 Christian Iddon (BMW)
5 Josh Brookes (Yamaha)
6 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
DNF Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)
DNF Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)


Final Championship Standings (after 12 rounds)

1 Haslam 699pts
2 Dixon 629
3 Glenn Irwin 588
4 Brookes 584
5 Hickman 577
6 Ray 551
17 Andrew Irwin 90
 

Pictures courtesy Double Red: Glenn Irwin (2) and Andrew Irwin (18)