Honda took the first win of the season after Glenn Irwin put in a domineering performance, leading from lights🍷 out to the chequered flag, soaking up the pressure for the looming Yamahas behind around the National layout at Silverstone to win the firs🤪t race of the British Superbikes season in style.

Honda Racing Uk’s Irwin entered race one with pole under his belt. It was set with a new lap record, but competition was always due to be fierce under race 🎀condition൩s - all of the top twelve in Q2 dipped under the old circuit best.

As Irwin correctly suggested after his sublime qualifying performance where valuable track time came after movin🍬g up through Q1, to then confidently sit out the last run for a fast time in Q2 after a red flag in the session, there are no points for pole - but a great start lead to a defensive ride from the front, with neat cornering and an♉ adapted, smooth ride bringing home victory on the Fireblade in the 30th anniversary year for the motorcycle.

• 2022 British 🦹Superbike Silverstone - Qualifying Resulꦓts
• Tarran Mackenzie to miss British S🐎uperbike 👍opener, WorldSBK wildcard postponed
• WorldSBK: What needs to change for Scott Redding and BMW after disastrous s൲tart?

The performance, a fifth win in the class, was all 📖the more impressive given the injuries picked up by Irwin in pre-season, which until recently saw a question mark over whether he would make the opening round at all.

The ultra competitive line-up didn’t disappoint with pressure coming every lap from theꩲ Rich Energy OMG racing team of Kyle Ryde and Bradley Ray.

Ryde was ahead on the grid but Ray soon saw his chance to sit in behind I💯rwin an🔴d search for a way to pass.

Ryde again pushed in front on lap eighteౠen, the pair unafraid to race each other - with contact between the duo. 

𝓡The num🌳ber 77 held firm and stayed ahead, but not close enough for a final run at first place, crossing the line just 0.139s behind, while his team-mate completed the podium, immediately looking at home on the Yamaha.

It was a case of cl🍷ose but not close enough for FS-3 Racing rider Rory Skinner, wh⭕o could not bridge the gap to the group in front but was in turn clear of the chasing bikes, for a solid fourth to get his season started.

After a stint at the front of the main pack by Christian Iddon, Jason O’Halloran took the position back on the McAMS Yamaha, holdinꦬg off a rapidly closing Andrew Irwin (Synetiq BMW Motorrad) on last s🦩eason’s championship winning bike, with Irwin the best of the ten BMW riders to finish in sixth, making progress from eighth on the grid.

2021 title runner-up Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Prod🥃ucts Racing) was next to see the finish line on the Ducati in seventh, as Iddon faded t𓆏o eighth for Buildbase Suzuki.

Lee Jackson claimed ninth for FS-3 Racing Kawasaki. The top ten wℱas completed by a gutsy performance from Danny Buchan on the second of the Synetiq BMW Motorrad entries, making up five places after qualifying down in 🌳fifteenth.

A trio of BSB’s most 🎃experienced riders were next to see the chequered flag with Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) eleventh and former World Superbike champion Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati) in twelfth.

His team-mate, Australian Josh Brookeꦛs, made up one position on h꧋is grid placing in 13th.

FHO Racing’s Ryan Vickers was not far behind in 14th, while the final point on offer went to Honda’s Tom Neave, storming through to 15th from his 24th p💮lace grid start.

A race to forget for Leon Haslam

2018 champion Leon Haslam’s much anticipated BSB return ended on lap sixಌ when a technical issue took him out of the race, with the engine stopping on his Lee Hardy Racing Kawasaki.

It completed a tough start to the opening round thus far for the class veteran after the number 91 had needed to come through Q1 in qualifying, though hope had shone through after using that time wisely to claim fifth on the grid. Once in the race Haslam soon faded and found himself on the cusp of falling out of the top ten𓆉 after just one lap before being forced to retire.

Dan Linfoot, Chrissy Rouse and Ryo Mizuno all also failed to see the end of💫 the season opener.

Former Moto3 champion Danny Kent was disapp𒐪ointing 17th.

Where is current champion Tarran Mackenzie?

The British Superbike season is well and truly underway with race one at Silverstone reaching it’s exciting con🌃clusion, but it has begun minus reigning BSꦍB champion Tarran Mackenzie.

The Scottish rider, who when back on track will once again be on board a McAMS Yamaha, took himself out of contention for the season opening round&nbsꦇp;- and his upcoming WSBK wildca🔴rd appearance - after a crash in testing left him with a fractured left ankle.

Already plated and under a physio regime, the number one plate should not have too long a wait before it makes it’s appearance on track and Mackenzie can take heaꦛrt that his title winning season saw him miss five races, so although starting with three blanks is far from Ideal, it should still be possible to launch a title defence when back▨ on track.

British Superbikes retu༒rn to Silverstone with two more races to complete the opening weekend on Easter Sunday.