Pole Positions all round for Honda Racing UK
Honda Racing UK kicked off their home round at Cadwell Park with Pole Positions in both the 2021 Pirelli National Superstock and the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
Glenn Irwin set his fastest qualifying lap in Q2 aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP grabbing his first Qualifying Pole Position this season and an unofficial lap record of 1:26.012. With a strong start and the advantage of pole, Glenn maintained his lead until lap 7. After 14 laps of the narrow and unique Cadwell Park circuit, Irwin finished in 4th to add 13 championship points to his tally.
Teammates Ryo Mizuno and Takumi Takahashi both made their race debuts at Cadwell Park with Takumi having his best qualifying session yet placing 4th in Q1 and getting into Q2 for the first time. Heading into the race from Row 6 in 18th, Takumi made good progress in the latter stages of the race moving up two places to take 16th while Ryo also improved on his 20th grid position to finish 19th.
Honda Racing UK's Superstock rider, Tom Neave also had a sensational qualifying aboard the Fireblade SP. Heading out as soon as the pit lane opened to attack Cadwell Park with a clear track ahead, it was clear Tom was on the pace immediately and using his home circuit knowledge to great advantage to set a Pole Position lap time of just 1:27.656, the fastest ever lap of Cadwell Park on a Superstock machine.
The team will be back in action tomorrow (Sunday 22 August) for two more Superbike races and the Superstock race of the weekend.
Glenn Irwin set his fastest qualifying lap in Q2 aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP grabbing his first Qualifying Pole Position this season and an unofficial lap record of 1:26.012. With a strong start and the advantage of pole, Glenn maintained his lead until lap 7. After 14 laps of the narrow and unique Cadwell Park circuit, Irwin finished in 4th to add 13 championship points to his tally.
Teammates Ryo Mizuno and Takumi Takahashi both made their race debuts at Cadwell Park with Takumi having his best qualifying session yet placing 4th in Q1 and getting into Q2 for the first time. Heading into the race from Row 6 in 18th, Takumi made good progress in the latter stages of the race moving up two places to take 16th while Ryo also improved on his 20th grid position to finish 19th.
Honda Racing UK's Superstock rider, Tom Neave also had a sensational qualifying aboard the Fireblade SP. Heading out as soon as the pit lane opened to attack Cadwell Park with a clear track ahead, it was clear Tom was on the pace immediately and using his home circuit knowledge to great advantage to set a Pole Position lap time of just 1:27.656, the fastest ever lap of Cadwell Park on a Superstock machine.
The team will be back in action tomorrow (Sunday 22 August) for two more Superbike races and the Superstock race of the weekend.
Glenn Irwin
I am really happy with the race and how the Fireblade SP is working, the team's in a good place, the bike's in a good place and has huge potential. In Superstock spec it's incredible. But, in the race, we started to get some chatter that robbed us of the chance to score big today. We'll look at the data and work on it for the sessions tomorrow. But, I'm not too disappointed with 4th place, it's 13 more championship points towards the Showdown.
Ryo Mizuno
The problem I had in qualifying was solved for the race and I had a good pace from the start. But I made a mistake and went off the track early and I was out of the group. It was a baptism of fire for this special circuit, but I'm feeling better and better every time I go out on the track, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow and trying to finish on a happy note!
Takumi Takahashi
It was good to be in Q2 for the first time, but I couldn’t improve my lap time in Q2. In Race1, I didn't make a good start and during the race, I wasn't as fast as I had been in qualifying. With two more races tomorrow I'll work with what I've learned so far and we will try to improve even more.
Tom Neave
Despite topping the board in yesterday's free practice, I knew I had so much more to give aboard the Fireblade SP. Our strategy for qualifying was to be first on track today, and that gave me the clear laps I needed to showcase what I'm capable of and really crack on. But, I never expected to get into the 27s and take pole by a good margin. I was even going quicker into my second flying lap before I caught up with traffic in the last sector. We're in a really good place and I'm feeling very confident for the race tomorrow.
British Superbike 2021
R6 Cadwell Park, Race 1
| Pos. | Name | No. | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Hickman | 60 | FHO Racing BMW Motorrad | BMW | 20:21.062 | 25 |
| 2 | Jason O'Halloran | 22 | McAMS Yamaha | Yamaha | +2.080 | 20 |
| 3 | Tommy Bridewell | – | Oxford Products Racing Ducati | Ducati | +3.729 | 16 |
| 4 | Glenn Irwin | – | Honda Racing UK | Honda | +4.348 | 13 |
| 5 | Christian Iddon | 21 | Visiontrack Ducati | Ducati | +4.529 | 11 |
| 6 | Lee Jackson | 14 | Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki | Kawasaki | +4.617 | 10 |
| 7 | Andrew Irwin | – | SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad | BMW | +5.253 | 9 |
| 8 | Ryan Vickers | 7 | RAF Regular and Reserve | Kawasaki | +7.120 | 8 |
| 9 | Rory Skinner | – | Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki | Kawasaki | +8.084 | 7 |
| 10 | Josh Brookes | 25 | Visiontrack Ducati | Ducati | +9.729 | 6 |
| 11 | Storm Stacey | 79 | Team LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki | Kawasaki | +17.295 | 0 |
| 12 | Dan Linfoot | 4 | TAG Racing Honda | Honda | +18.059 | 0 |
| 13 | Bradley Ray | 28 | Rich Energy OMG Racing | BMW | +20.200 | 3 |
| 14 | Xavi Forés | 12 | FHO Racing BMW Motorrad | BMW | +21.693 | 2 |
| 15 | Tim Neave | 54 | Buildbase Suzuki | Suzuki | +27.090 | 1 |
| 16 | Takumi Takahashi | – | Honda Racing UK | Honda | +34.723 | 0 |
| 17 | Bjorn Estment | 27 | Powerslide Racing Suzuki | Suzuki | +37.790 | 0 |
| 18 | Joe Sheldon-Shaw | 10 | Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki | Kawasaki | +40.534 | 0 |
| 19 | Ryo Mizuno | – | Honda Racing UK | Honda | +51.768 | 0 |
| 20 | Brian McCormack | 11 | Roadhouse Macau by FHO Racing BMW | BMW | +1:12.074 | 0 |
| 21 | James Hillier | 77 | Rich Energy OMG Racing | BMW | +1:19.361 | 0 |
British Superbike 2021
R6 Cadwell Park, Qualifying
| Pos. | Name | No. | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glenn Irwin | – | Honda Racing UK | Honda | 1:26.012 |
| 2 | Jason O'Halloran | 22 | McAMS Yamaha | Yamaha | 1:26.053 |
| 3 | Peter Hickman | 60 | FHO Racing BMW Motorrad | BMW | 1:26.129 |
| 4 | Tommy Bridewell | – | Oxford Products Racing Ducati | Ducati | 1:26.290 |
| 5 | Lee Jackson | 14 | Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki | Kawasaki | 1:26.307 |
| 6 | Andrew Irwin | – | SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad | BMW | 1:26.413 |
| 7 | Rory Skinner | – | Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki | Kawasaki | 1:26.591 |
| 8 | Ryan Vickers | 7 | RAF Regular and Reserve | Kawasaki | 1:26.646 |
| 9 | Christian Iddon | 21 | Visiontrack Ducati | Ducati | 1:26.687 |
| 10 | Tarran Mackenzie | – | McAMS Yamaha | Yamaha | 1:26.731 |
| 11 | Dan Linfoot | 4 | TAG Racing Honda | Honda | 1:26.791 |
| 12 | Gino Rea | 44 | Buildbase Suzuki | Suzuki | 1:26.831 |
| 13 | Josh Brookes | 25 | Visiontrack Ducati | Ducati | 1:26.866 |
| 14 | Bradley Ray | 28 | Rich Energy OMG Racing | BMW | 1:27.067 |
| 15 | Storm Stacey | 79 | Team LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki | Kawasaki | 1:27.263 |
| 16 | Xavi Forés | 12 | FHO Racing BMW Motorrad | BMW | 1:27.356 |
| 17 | Tim Neave | 54 | Buildbase Suzuki | Suzuki | 1:27.506 |
| 18 | Takumi Takahashi | – | Honda Racing UK | Honda | 1:27.601 |
| 20 | Ryo Mizuno | – | Honda Racing UK | Honda | 1:28.342 (Q1) |
National Superstock 2021
R6 Cadwell Park, Qualifying
| Pos. | Name | No. | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Neave | 68 | Honda Racing UK | Honda | 1:27.656 |
| 2 | Fraser Rogers | 89 | Morello IMR by CPD | Kawasaki | +0.685 |
| 3 | Billy McConnell | 3 | OMG Racing | Yamaha | +0.712 |
| 4 | Luke Mossey | 32 | Bournemouth Kawasaki/HEL Performance | Kawasaki | +0.951 |
| 5 | Taylor Mackenzie | 77 | Bathams BMW Motorrad | BMW | +1.023 |
| 6 | Alex Olsen | 75 | FHO Racing BMW | BMW | +1.077 |
| 7 | David Allingham | 11 | Astro-JJR BMW | BMW | +1.102 |
| 8 | Chrissy Rouse | 1 | GR Motorsport | Kawasaki | +1.126 |
| 10 | Ian Hutchinson | 44 | Edwards Yamaha | Yamaha | +1.472 |