BSB: Glenn Irwin fourth in race two at Brands Hatch

His PBM Be Wiser Ducati team-mate, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, was in dominant form as he won both races to extend his championship lead.

Carrick rider Irwin, who sealed his maiden podium finish in the previous round at Thruxton, had been in contention for the top six in the opener when he crashed out at Graham Hill Bend.

However, Irwin fought back in the second race and began challenging Leon Haslam for the lead on lap seven after making rapid progress from his third row start.

Eventually, the 26-year-old wrapped up fourth place to cap another impressive performance in his rookie season in BSB for Paul Bird’s Be Wiser Ducati team.

“I’ve had strong pace all weekend but with the track temperature going up a bit, I didn’t quite have the feeling I wanted in race one and instead of easing my pace a bit and bringing the bike home for a finish, I made a mistake and crashed out,” said Irwin, who is up to 12th in the points table.

“The team did a great job in getting the bike ready for race two and it feels really good to come back in with a good result. I thought I might lead at one stage but after the safety car the other riders had a bit more grip and I couldn’t go with them.

“It’s another strong result and to be battling with the likes of Shakey, Leon and Jason [O’Halloran] is a real honour.”

Byrne won race one by half-a-second from JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Haslam, with Luke Mossey third on the Quattro Plant Kawasaki.

In race two, the four-time champion’s winning margin was 1.4 seconds over Haslam, with O’Halloran third on the Honda Racing Fireblade.

It was a disappointing weekend for Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty, who finished race one in 14th place and retired from race two with a mechanical problem. His team-mate, Christian Iddon, finished ninth and 10th.

Laverty, though, remains in fourth place in the Showdown standings, two points ahead of Dan Linfoot.

Alastair Seeley failed to score any points on the RAF Reserves BMW as he finished 16th and 17th in the two races.