BSB 2022: Oulton Park | Honda Engine Room

The Track

Circuit length: 2.6920m / 4.332km

Corners: 17

Lefthand: 6

Righthand: 11

BSB Lap Record : Tommy Bridewell - DUCATI 1:33.941 (2019)

Glenn Irwin maintains championship lead after Oulton Park opener

Sunday 1st May 2022

Glenn Irwin maintains his Bennetts British Superbike Championship lead by 18 points, after placing 11th in today's Oulton Park BSB opener. Race 1 this afternoon followed a mixed Qualifying session for the Honda squad, where tricky weather conditions hampered progress at the 2.69-mile circuit.

Heading straight out in Q2, after placing seventh on the combined practice times, Glenn qualified ninth on the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP ready for the afternoon's 14-lap race. Dropping back places in the opening few laps, Glenn was running 11th when the race was brought to an early end on the 12th lap following a red flag.

Meanwhile Tom Neave finished just shy of the points in 17th place, after a crash in Qualifying left him without a lap time and he started Race 1 from last position in 32nd, which was a huge blow to the BSB rookie after smashing his personal best lap times in each practice session and making huge steps across the weekend. Making up 15 places throughout the race from 32nd to finish 17th, Tom will start Race 2 tomorrow (Monday) from 15th on the grid, just one position behind his Honda teammate Glenn in 14th.

Ryo Mizuno also enjoyed working his way through the pack, where he finished 22nd after starting from 31st, and Takumi Takahashi finished 25th.

Progress made at Oulton Park for Honda Racing UK

Monday 2nd May 2022

The Honda Racing UK team is leaving the second round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship with a brace of top ten finishes, having made progress throughout the weekend with the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.

Following his 11th place in yesterday's opening race, the team worked hard to improve on areas Glenn was struggling with, and digging deep in both 18-lap races, Glenn finished ninth and seventh, which is a fantastic result all-round for the Honda squad. The results from today keep Glenn at the sharp end of the championship, where he's sitting second overall - just six points shy of current leader Bradley Ray.

Progress was also made for Takumi Takahashi, who after finishing 21st in Race 2, was chasing down the points in the final race of the day, and by mid-race was 14th. However, towards the end of the 18 laps, having felt some vibrations and suffering with arm pump, he dropped back to just outside the points to cross the line 17th. Meanwhile it was a disappointing weekend for Ryo Mizuno, who wasn't able to make progress from his 22nd place finish in yesterday's outing, where today he finished 22nd and 21st respectively.

Sadly it was an early end for BSB rookie Tom Neave who crashed out of the final race of the day on the opening lap at turn one. Tom was taken to the on-site medical centre with concussion and has been taken to hospital for further checks. The early end was a huge blow to Tom, who had finished Race 2 in the points in 15th place.