After securing a quadruple of top ten finishes at the North West 200 the Honda Racing UK team returns its attention to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship for round 3 of the competitive series at the iconic Donington Park GP Circuit.
The 2.49-mile Derbyshire circuit has been a successful venue for the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP since its introduction to British championship racing with a win, secured by Andrew Irwin, and a further three podiums at the fast and flowing GP track layout. The Fireblade has also achieved great success with two wins and five podiums on the shorter National circuit, which the team will head to later in the year.
Andrew Irwin returns to the track that has brought him great success previously buoyed by the progress that has been made over the initial two rounds of the season. Improvements made at the previous round saw him battling for the podium positions only to lose out on the run to the finish line. He will be looking to make another step as he fights to make up ground in the championship as he currently sits sixth on 44 points.
On the other side of the garage, Tom Neave also has happy memories of the GP circuit with a win and multiple podiums achieved from his time racing in the Superstock class. He will be hoping to continue his progression up the finishing order aboard his Superbike and better his best finish of 11th.
Dry weather permitting, the Donington Park round also sees the return of the Superpole qualifying format. Whereby the top 12 seeded riders from free practice and the 3 advancing riders from eBay Qualifying are all afforded just a single flying lap to set their fastest time.
Action for the team kicks off with Superbike first practice scheduled for 13.00 on Friday 19th May. The BikeSocial Sprint Race is due to take place on Saturday 20th with the final two Superbike races on Sunday 21st. Click HERE to see the full weekend schedule.
#18 Andrew Irwin
I’m looking forward to Donington, it’s a track that I have had great success at on the Honda before. I won three races there in 2020 in the first year of the new Fireblade and it gives me a lot of confidence to return there once more. We have been building steadily over the first two rounds and in the last round we made a good step. Hopefully this weekend we can make another step to be there fighting for the positions that we want to be fighting for. I am really looking forward to it and getting back on my bike, it’s been a few weeks. I’m really enjoying everything at the moment, my racing and my training. I look forward to going to Donington with an open mind and trying to close the gap in the championship
#68 Tom Neave
I am really looking forward to Donington this weekend, it is a track that I have always gone pretty well at in the past, especially in Superstock. In that class, it is my winningest track. Unfortunately, last year I never really got to have a stab at it with the Superbike due to my concussion. Now that the track has been fully resurfaced, I am really looking forward to trying it. I missed the test earlier in the year due to my collarbone injury which was a shame, but the weather wasn’t great so no one really got too many laps so I don’t think we are at too much of a disadvantage. Based on what the Honda Superbike has done there in the past with wins and podiums I think it is a track that is really going to suit the bike. I am feeling really positive and looking forward to it, hopefully we can start to crack on now. My aims are to start getting into those top ten positions, I really want to start pushing for that now. I’ve matched my best result with an 11th at round one so I want to be consistent, smooth and continue to build.
