Glenn Irwins sets Donington lap record but “the most important thing is…”

Glenn Irwin laid down a serious marker for the 2025 British Superbike Championship at the Donington Park test.

The Hagar PBM Ducati rider broke the lap record on Friday with 1m 27.022s, before bettering it again on Saturday with 1m 27.015s in the sixth and final session of the two-day test.

But Irwin, who has retired from road racing to focus on finally winning the BSB title this year, insists his eye-catching pace is not the crucial takeaway from this test.

2025 Official Donington Park British Superbike Test Results - Day 2 (Saturday)

“Two great days on track in terms of getting through a rigorous programme,” Irwin said.

“We have more items in the locker to try. We’ll move those onto Oulton Park. We were being very scheduled and methodical.

“The bike [on Saturday] was good but there were limiting factors in how we set it up.

“We persevered and improved it. But if I could pick a bike, I’d go with the setting [from Friday].

“To do the fastest-ever lap is nice. Maybe the lap will be on Instagram later which is always enjoyable to watch!

“The most important thing in these couple of days: it’s not about the lap time. We stuck to our plan.

“We tried something which was not better instead of reverting back. We tried to see if we can make it better.

“That comes with calmness and experience in the garage.”

Irwin said after Friday’s running: “BSB fever is here - Navarra is nice but when you come somewhere like this, it’s real.

“I woke up buzzing, bouncing around my hotel room.

“We have stuck to a plan.The weather played a bit of havoc with what we had planned.

“We have stuff to try this year which is motivating - not that I need any more motivation!

“The biggest thing isn’t performance parts on the bike. It’s my comfort.

“A lot of the improvement has come through experience.”

Irwin will be back in action on Wednesday and Thursday when BSB tests at Oulton Park.