Honda Racing playing home ground advantage at Cadwell Park
The Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) and Quattro British Supersport Championship make their annual visit to Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire this Bank Holiday weekend (August 23-25), marking the home race for Louth-based Honda Racing.
Situated barely five miles by road from the Honda Racing factory, the unique topography of Cadwell Park - known as the ‘mini-Nürburgring’ to aficionados - presents a special challenge to the riders and teams each year.
Climbing away from the start/finish line takes riders out into fast, open sweeping bends before they plunge into woodland, climbing out over the Mountain - where they take off and leap several feet into the air - before the tortuous turns of the return leg. Small wonder, then, that this makes the venue one of the most popular on the BSB calendar and one of the best-attended weekends of the season.
At Cadwell Park in 2024, Tommy Bridewell scored two podium finishes on his Honda Fireblade in BSB, including a win in the second race. In Supersport, Dean Harrison scored a strong fourth place in only his second outing on the Honda CBR600RR, which was followed by Jack Kennedy visiting the podium in the second race.
This year, Bridewell has been a regular threat for the BSB podium - so far taking a hat trick of third place finishes - while team-mate Andrew Irwin has recovered well from an early season injury to now be racing wheel-to-wheel with his colleague.
In Supersport, Honda’s defending champion Jack Kennedy still has his sights firmly fixed on a sixth title, holding third place in the rankings as the Cadwell Park weekend approaches. Team-mate Harrison has led Honda Racing’s charge on the road racing calendar this year, notching up two historic wins on the Isle of Man TT and not finishing off the podium. Now his focus is fixed on reaching the podium at a BSB event.
Hopes are high within the team that another strong result at their home event will help them to build upon the strides that have been made in their performance in recent rounds.
(Note: Gallery images are from both Cadwell Park in August 2024 and Thruxton in August 2025)
(Note: Gallery images are from both Cadwell Park in August 2024 and Thruxton in August 2025)
Tommy Bridewell
“Cadwell Park is a track that I enjoy riding and traditionally go well on. It was nice to be able to take a couple of podiums last year, especially the win, in front of so many of the factory staff who don’t always get to come to the races. We’re not where we would want to be in the championship points at this stage, but we’ve had a test and we’ve put a lot of thought into what we’ve learnt from the first half of the season. We’ll just have to chip away in every session and keep our focus on where it needs to be - which is reaching the podium and winning races. That’s got to be the target.”
Andrew Irwin
“I’m looking forward to the weekend, we’ve taken some steps forward recently and I feel like I’m gathering momentum towards reaching the podium for the first time this year. The team is working hard and doing as much as they can at the track and at Louth to give us all the best package possible. I’m working hard on and off the track and I think we can be confident of a strong weekend. Cadwell Park is unique, there’s nothing really to compare with it anywhere in the world, it’s incredibly narrow with the Mountain jump and the fast, flowing sections as well. It’s always a balance to get the bike handling how you need it.”
Jack Kennedy
“Cadwell Park is a really exciting track to ride with a lot of undulations and different types of bends from flat-out sweepers to tight and technical. There’s always a great atmosphere, with people coming to spend the Bank Holiday weekend and camping there. It feels really enclosed because you’re based in the valley and so the sound of the different exhaust notes of the manufacturers and engines echo through the trees, which seems to make it even more special. It’s always good, close racing and always comes down to the last couple of laps. It’s just a really good vibe. We rode the wheels off the Honda CBR600RR to get points at Thruxton, which is a real power circuit. Cadwell Park is more about handling, which is where we are strongest, so I’m looking forward to the weekend and I’m feeling confident.”
Dean Harrison
“It’s been a busy part of the calendar between Thruxton and Cadwell Park, as we had a day testing and meeting Honda customers at Donington Park and now I’m at the Classic TT for a bit of fun before we go to Cadwell Park literally a day later. I say fun, but once the visor goes down we’re all racers! So, after all of that, I’m looking forward to Cadwell Park. It’s a circuit I enjoy roaring round with all of the different types of corners and the changes in elevation. We were pretty good on pace at Thruxton last time out, and we’ve made a few changes since then that should work well for us. I’m looking forward to it, and there’s a great atmosphere at Cadwell.”
Team Manager Havier Beltran
“I think the most important thing for me and for everyone at Honda Racing is that this is the one race in the year that friends and family are going to be around us, and it seems to work pretty well as motivation! Everybody wants to do the best they can in front of a home crowd, and although the team has been working hard and executing every weekend at the highest level, Cadwell Park is special. I think that we have taken some good steps as a team in recent weeks and so we can look forward to the Bank Holiday with confidence.”