The Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki team achieved their best results so far in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship this weekend with Héctor Barberá impressing on his series debut and Glenn Irwin taking his best finish of the season to date. 

It was new team member Barberá, deputising for the injured Ben Currie, who fared the best in qualifying as he took eighth place and a third-row start for the first 26-lap race on Saturday afternoon, while Irwin lined up in 16^th – three rows further back.

The early stages of the race saw both riders fall back slightly but as the laps unfolded, they both began to make good progress and by half-race distance, Héctor was up into an excellent sixth place – and closing in on the leading pack – with Glenn up to 12^th.

The Spaniard briefly moved up to fifth but eventually had to settle for sixth position, just four seconds adrift of race winner and fellow ex-MotoGP rider Scott Redding – an excellent effort on his BSB debut. Meanwhile, Glenn continued to overtake riders and took the chequered flag in ninth place for his best result of the season so far.

Sunday’s first race got under way with Barberá starting from the front row although he’d slipped back to seventh at the end of the first lap with Irwin back in 15^th and although the latter was forced to retire just after half-race distance, Hector enjoyed a race long battle with Peter Hickman which eventually saw him finish in eighth place after the race was ended early due to rain. 

The third and final race saw the 32-year-old start from pole position but a slightly sluggish start saw him drop back to seventh at the end of the opening lap. Two laps in he’d moved up to sixth and although he remained here for the next eight laps, he was running with the leading group of riders so well in contention for a podium finish.

However, on the tenth lap, he slid off, fortunately without injury, at the Old Hairpin although he’d made more than a favourable impression on his series debut. That just left Northern Ireland’s Irwin to fly the flag for the team and although he dropped back to 20^th at one stage, he fought all the way to the end and was duly rewarded with two championship points for 14^th place.

Glenn Irwin said: “We definitely made some progress this weekend and it’s the first time in a long time we’ve been able to fight with riders in better positions. It was nice to be the top Kawasaki in race three but I was given a penalty which dropped me back.

“I’ve been looking at Danny (Buchan) all year and wondering why I am where I am, so to beat him was good. At the same time to be in the position we are in isn’t ideal.

“I’m beginning to feel more comfortable on the bike but there is definitely a lot more to come. I’d like to thank Phil Marron and the team for bringing Phil in. We’ve a good platform to go forwards – roll on Brands!”

Héctor Barberá said: “I’m very happy with the opportunity I have been given. The bike is very good and the team are fantastic. I need a little more time with the bike and the tyres; riding with no traction and no electronics. It is difficult as I only went on the bike on Friday morning.

“The last race was my best race despite crashing as every session was a testing session and each time we were learning.

“In the last race one changed to the softer front tyre but maybe the harder tyre would be better for me. Everything was perfect; the bike, the team, and I really like the championship.   

“I had a lot of confidence in the last race and I pushed a little hard, I wasn’t sure of my limit but I found it! I am lucky as the weather has been good all weekend. However, I am a little angry as I think in the last race I could have battled for a podium!”

Jack Valentine, Team Manager, said: “There have been a lot of positives this weekend. We brought Héctor Barberá in to replace Ben and he’s been like a breath of fresh air all weekend.

“Héctor took to the bike like a duck to water; he was on it straight away. We made only very small changes for every session to allow him to get used to the bike. He had two strong results and put the bike on the front row for race two and pole position for race three. He slipped off in the third race but he said he had to find his limits and he found them but he was running with the front pack when he went down.

“We are still struggling to find what Glenn wants and it’s a little disappointing as we were hoping he would be up there now fighting for podiums. We’ve made a lot of changes and hopefully we can continue to make progress and get a breakthrough.

“It’s looking likely we will have Héctor on at Brands. We will do a test at Knockhill and give him some more track time there.”

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Bennetts British Superbike Championship race one (26 laps)

1. Scott Redding (Ducati)
2. Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
3. Xavi Fores (Honda)
4. Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
5. Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)
6. Héctor Barberá (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

   9. Glenn Irwin (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (26 laps)

1. Scott Redding (Ducati)
2. Xavi Fores (Honda)
3. Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
4. Josh Brookes (Ducati)
5. Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
6. Christian Iddon (BMW)

   8. Héctor Barberá (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

   DNF Glenn Irwin (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three (26 laps)

1. Scott Redding (Ducati)
2. Xavi Fores (Honda)
3. Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
4. Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
5. Josh Brookes (Ducati)
6. Christian Iddon (BMW)

  14. Glenn Irwin (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

  DNF Héctor Barberá (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

Championship Positions (after three rounds)

1. Redding 115pts
2. Bridewell 109
3. Mackenzie 108
4. Brookes 74
5. Fores 70
6. Buchan 68

   16. Barberá 18

   19. Irwin 14

   22. Currie 3

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