Glenn Irwin left it late to make his mark on the opening day of British Superbike action at Donington Park, firing in a rapid lap toward the end of Free Practice 2 to top the timesheets and head into Saturday’s qualifying as the man to beat.
The Hager PBM Ducati rider started FP2 in fifth, building on a steady showing earlier in FP1. Dropping briefly to tenth as others improved, Irwin then found clean track space and made it count — clocking a 1m27.370s lap, putting him close to his own lap record around the National layout.
His time displaced Bradley Ray from the top spot. Ray, riding for Raceways Yamaha, had been the pacesetter in FP1 and the early part of FP2. He turned in a solid run of consistent laps across both old and fresh tyres, eventually finishing just 0.093s off Irwin’s benchmark.
Rory Skinner showed encouraging pace aboard the Cheshire Mouldings Ducati. After feeling progress had been made with setup in the morning, he carried that momentum into the afternoon to secure third in both sessions.
Defending champion Kyle Ryde lost his two best laps after exceeding track limits at the Fogarty Esses — both times after starting strongly with fastest sector one splits. The OMG Nitron Competition rider still posted times good enough for fourth overall when not quite pushing the boundaries.
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Leon Haslam continued his form aboard the Moto Rapido Ducati, ending the day fifth fastest. Behind him, Charlie Nesbitt turned heads as the leading Honda rider. Starting FP2 outside the top 12, he climbed to sixth despite having several of his laps deleted for track limits infringements.
Lee Jackson was also on an upward curve, finishing seventh before his DAO Racing Honda came to a halt late in the session with a mechanical issue.
His teammate Josh Brookes found it tough to get a clear lap in traffic but said afterward he feels there’s podium pace in the bike. He ended the day eighth, just behind Jackson.
Top Kawasaki honours went to Max Cook, who slotted into ninth for AJN Steelstock. Both he and teammate Christian Iddon (11th) secured direct entry into Q2.
They were split by Andrew Irwin, who improved late in the session to go tenth. His jump into the top 12 meant teammate Tommy Bridewell was bumped out and left 13th. The Honda Racing UK squad had their work cut out post-session, with Bridewell’s bike needing extensive attention in the garage.
The final Q2 spot went to rookie Scott Swann, who earned automatic progression for the first time in only his second BSB round with Send My Bag Racing by IWR Honda — a significant early career milestone.
Bridewell wasn’t the only big name to miss the cut. Danny Kent suffered a second crash in FP2, ending his day in 14th for McAMS Yamaha and leaving his crew with a long night of repairs.
John McPhee returned to the track after his earlier off, but a brief run confirmed further setup work was needed on his MasterMac bike before FP3.
Friday also marked the return of Tom Sykes to the BSB paddock. Stepping in for the injured Lewis Rollo at Sencat In Competition by Swann Racing Aprilia, the former WorldSBK champion brings experience and past success — including a race win on his Donington comeback in 2022.
With 22 months out of the saddle and a few early teething problems, Sykes finished Friday 23rd, but there’s still more to come from the veteran as he gets reacquainted with the bike and the circuit.
