BSB: Glenn Irwin smashes lap record to top Silverstone Test

Glenn Irwin posted the fastest ever Bennetts British Superbike lap-time around the Silverstone National Circuit to top the two-day official test.

The Honda Racing UK rider’s time – a 53.139 – was 0.174s faster than Jason O’Halloran’s circuit record (53.342), and 0.090s quicker than the fastest lap set in qualifying last year by Danny Buchan (53.229).

Day One – Jason O’Halloran tops the timesheets for McAMS Yamaha

Irwin’s fastest time came in the third session of the final day, whilst spots of rain and cooler conditions in the final session meant that nobody could challenge the Honda man on the combined standings.

Tarran Mackenzie was also under the circuit record in second spot, posting his fastest lap-time in the third session of the day – a 53.200.

Danny Kent enjoyed a positive start to his maiden full-time campaign in BSB in third spot. The Buildbase Suzuki rider topped the second session of the day as he continues to adjust to the Superbike after a season in the Superstock 1000 class.

Kyle Ryde jumped to fourth overall after topping the final session of the test, whilst O’Halloran was fifth for McAMS Yamaha. The Aussie topped all four sessions on the opening day, picking up from where he left off at the end of a strong 2020 campaign.

Gino Rea ensured that both Suzukis were inside the top six on the combined standings. Like Kent, Rea posted his fastest lap-time in the second session of the final day, finishing the test 0.296s off Irwin’s lap-time.

SYNETIQ BMW’s new recruits Danny Buchan and Andrew Irwin were seventh and eighth respectively after setting their fastest times in the final session of the day – finishing third and fourth in that session.

Christian Iddon and Ryan Vickers completed the top 10, whilst Spaniard Xavi Forés was 11th on his return to the championship with FHO Racing BMW. Josh Brookes was 12th and was unable to improve his position in Thursday’s final session after a crash at Becketts, which resulted in a brief red flag period.

Elsewhere, Dan Linfoot was 14th on his return to Honda machinery. The TAG Racing team has the Fireblade at their disposal this season after switching from the Yamaha R1. Honda Racing UK’s Japanese newcomers Takumi Takahashi and Ryo Mizuno were 18th and 19th respectively on their official BSB debuts.

Last year’s Supersport title fighters Rory Skinner and Brad Jones were 20th and 28th respectively.

The BSB paddock now heads to Norfolk for a three-day test at Snetterton on May 4-6.

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BSB: Jason O’Halloran tops day one of the Silverstone Test

First published: 28 April 2021 by Josh Close

Jason O’Halloran has started his 2021 Bennetts British Superbike pre-season on a positive note by topping all four sessions on the opening day of the Silverstone Test.

The Aussie, who enjoyed his best BSB season yet in 2020, quickly got back up to speed on the McAMS Yamaha R1 and posted the fastest overall lap-time of the day in the second session; a 53.469. That was enough to beat reigning champion Josh Brookes by 0.358.

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Christian Iddon completed the top three on what was a cold and windy day, whilst Kyle Ryde missed out on a spot inside the top three by only 0.005s on his Rich Energy OMG Racing debut. Ryde, who won two races in his maiden BSB campaign last year, switches from Suzuki to BMW power this season.

Xavi Forés was fifth on his FHO Racing BMW M1000RR. The Spaniard is returning to the series after spending a season in the World Superbike Championship last season. Forés was 0.453s off O’Halloran’s time.

Danny Kent bounced back from a crash earlier in the day to take sixth spot overall. The 2015 Moto3 world champion posted his fastest lap-time in the fourth and final session of the day.

Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell were seventh and eighth respectively, whilst Gino Rea and Tarran Mackenzie completed the top 10. Mackenzie didn’t complete any laps in the fourth session of the day after falling at turn one.

Elsewhere, Danny Buchan was 12th on his SYNETIQ BMW debut, just ahead of Honda Racing UK newcomer Takumi Takahashi and new BMW teammate Andrew Irwin. Dan Linfoot ended day one in 17th on the TAG Racing Honda. The team have the updated Fireblade at their disposal this season after switching from Yamaha.

Rory Skinner ended his first official day in BSB 20th overall, whilst Japanese rider Ryo Mizuno was 22nd. Brad Jones, who moves into the premier class from the Supersport championship, was 25th.

The BSB riders and teams will have another four sessions tomorrow (April 29) to test out new parts and get themselves back into the swing of things.