Honda Racing aims for gains from return to Donington Park
Honda Racing makes its second visit of the season to Donington Park in Leicestershire this weekend (September 5-7) for Round 8 of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB), and Quattro British Supersport Championship.
The team arrives having built a string of strong performances through the summer months in both categories. In late June, at Snetterton, former champion Tommy Bridewell reached the BSB podium for the first time this season on his Honda Fireblade, claiming a pair of third place finishes. He then claimed another third place at Knockhill in July before his first win of 2025 during the last round at Cadwell Park two weeks ago, along with another third place.
In a further boost to Honda’s competitiveness, Bridewell’s team-mate Andrew Irwin also enjoyed a run of podium finishes at Cadwell Park - taking his Fireblade to two third places and a second - as well as his first pole position of the year. Irwin has battled back to fitness after injuries from a qualifying crash at the first round of the season, and is now back at his peak as he prepares for Donington Park - which is statistically his best track.
The highly motivated team will arrive at a circuit where Honda has a strong record of achievement, which is likely to prove crucial at the busiest weekend of the season. The BSB riders will have four races - one on Saturday and three on Sunday - in order to complete their regular season schedule after one race was cancelled at the opening round.
After Donington Park, there is a reset and the top riders will compete the final three rounds of the year as the ‘Showdown’. This means that both Bridewell and Irwin will be hungry to make up more ground on the points leaders before the three-round shootout for the title.
Meanwhile, Honda Racing’s defending Supersport champion, Jack Kennedy, is still battling hard at the top of the points table in his pursuit of a sixth title in the category on the Honda CBR600RR.
Currently third in the standings, having taken race wins at Snetterton and Knockhill among five podium finishes so far, the Irishman is keenly aware of how competitive the series has been in 2025. His enormous experience will be critical in a battle that has enthralled fans at every round this season.
Riding alongside Kennedy, team-mate Dean Harrison is poised to challenge for his first podium of the season on the sister CBR600RR. The team’s acknowledged road racing expert has not finished off the podium in the longer races of the year in 2025, crowned by two victories on the Isle of Man TT, and on the first visit of the season in May he lapped Donington Park at an identical pace to Kennedy - down to a thousandth of a second.
In both categories, Honda Racing will be pushing hard at Donington Park to maintain the team’s ever-improving form, and to put its riders in the best possible position to close the season with success.
Tommy Bridewell
“While it was amazing to get the win and have a stronger weekend last time at Cadwell Park, we haven’t yet got to the point where we can be confident that we are as strong as that at every round. We’re probably more optimistic, but until we roll out, we’re not sure where we will be. Donington is a bit like Cadwell in that the rider plays a big part in performance, but you also need the bike to be operating strongly in every area because there’s hard braking and acceleration as well as fast, flowing sections. The weekend schedule is tough running three races on Sunday, because the build-up and the approach is what takes it out of you as much as the race itself. It will be hard, but it’s not looking like it will be too hot and that’s good because mentally and physically you need to be on the ball. I expect to be fighting for the podium and it’s not too late to finish the season strong. After this weekend the Showdown changes things a bit, but the strong riders who have a consistently strong bike are always going to be in the best place.”
Andrew Irwin
“I never get too carried away or too excited, but I think we can build from the way that we’ve been working over the last four or five rounds. We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves, but just continue taking steps at Donington from where we were at Cadwell. Last time we were at Donington was my first race weekend after injuring my shoulder, and honestly we had a decent weekend even then. I feel like the bike’s made a step since then, and for sure I’ve made several steps, and we tested there recently where we understood some different ways of working at Donington which will help us. Fingers crossed, when we roll out on Friday, we can hit the ground running and have a positive weekend from the beginning.”
Jack Kennedy
“The potential was there to be on the podium twice at Cadwell Park, I just made two mistakes that cost us positions in the first race, but we took strong points in the second. The thing is that it’s a dogfight, really, in every race and nobody knows where anybody’s going to end up. I’m happy that we were back where we needed to be at the end of the Cadwell weekend. We’ve had a test at Donington, which has shown us a few things to improve, given some good information and changes that will allow me to fight better because we didn’t reach the podium last time we were there. The goal is to improve. At this stage in the championship we need to be beating our rivals, so that’s what my plan is.”
Dean Harrison
“I’m glad to be going back to Donington after a busy summer where I’ve been racing almost every week. Last time we were there, back in May, was just before the start of the TT, and I was able to match Jack’s fastest lap to a thousandth of a second, which for two riders on two different setups, shows that we had both got absolutely everything out of the bike. We’ve made some improvements since then, and I’ve had some good success, and reaching the podium on the CBR600RR is really the last big target for the year still to aim for. I was really pleased with the way I was passing people last time at Cadwell, being in the group battles on short circuits is all about the cut and thrust, and I feel we’ve turned a bit of a corner now.”
Team Manager Havier Beltran
“After an inconsistent start to the season, the hard work that has gone in from everyone in the team, both at the track and at the workshop in Louth, has really begun to pay off. The podium is our primary focus for all four riders in both classes, and returning to Donington Park for our final visit of 2025 gives us the best opportunity to consolidate and potentially take another step forward. It is a challenge for the BSB team to complete four races in a weekend, and three of those in one day, but the challenge is why we race.”
