Glenn Irwin (born 21 March 1990 in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland) is a professional road racer of motorcycles, and the brother of racer Andrew Irwin. For 2023, he raced for the Paul Bird Motorsport Ducati team in the British Superbike Championship, losing the championship by half-a-point, and in road racing events such as the North West 200 aboard a Ducati Panigale V4 R.[1]
| Glenn Irwin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Irwin at Oulton Park in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Northern Irish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 March 1990 Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | PBM Racing Ducati | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bike number | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Irwin was confirmed in March 2024 to be continuing with his former team, renamed as PBM Racing following the death of Paul Bird, as a single rider entry in British Superbikes.[2]
Irwin has experienced success on both short circuits and the roads, with runner-up spots in the 2022 British Superbike Championship, 21 points behind champion Bradley Ray,[1] and again in 2023 by a half-point to teammate Tommy Bridewell.
Irwin also has allied eight wins at the North West 200, all in the superbike class including doubles at the 2018 and 2022 meetings.[3] Irwin also holds the lap record for the fastest newcomer at the Isle of Man TT, set in 2022 with a lap clocked at 129.85 mph.[4]
Career edit
Irwin secured his first title in 2008 by taking the Irish Clubman 125 championship, which was backed up the following year by victory in the Ulster Supersport Championship and Supersport Cup.[5] The following year, he made his debut in the British Championships, with a runners up spot in the 2011 National Superstock 600 Championship to fellow Northern Irishman Keith Farmer seeing him secure his status as top rookie in the championship that year.
2012 saw Irwin compete in the 2012 British Supersport Championship where he finished the season in 9th place, winning the privateer's championship over Luke Jones. He would return the following year in the Supersport Championship for the Mar-Train Yamaha Team alongside Stuart Easton,[6] where he would again finish the season in 9th place. For 2014, Irwin would return in the Supersport Championship but for a different team and manufacturer, as the off-season had seen him switch to the Gearlink Kawasaki team alongside Ben Wilson.[7] His season got off to the best possible start by taking his maiden victory in British Supersport at the opening round on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.[8] This would be added to with four further victories across the remainder of the season, seeing him end the season in 4th place.[8] He extended his stay with the Gearlink Kawasaki outfit during the off-season for the 2015 season,[9] where he would score another 4th-place finish, taking 3 victories and 10 podiums on his way.
2016 would see Irwin step up to the British Superbike Championship with PBM Ducati, where he would race alongside Shane Byrne.[10] He would finish the season in 12th place, picking up a podium apiece at Thruxton and Brands Hatch as teammate Byrne won the title.[11] The 2016 season would also see him make his debut at the Macau Grand Prix, where a technical problem cost him a potential podium finish.[12] Irwin returned with PBM in 2017 after signing a new two-year-deal with the Cumbrian team,[13] where he would take his maiden win in British Superbike with victory in the first race of the Silverstone round,[14] ending the season in 12th place once more.[15] He made his debut appearance at the North West 200 that year, where he would take a debut win in the superbike class ahead of Alastair Seeley by just 0.172 seconds.[16] He was also victorious at the Macau Grand Prix, taking victory over Peter Hickman.[17] 2018 would see a sharp upturn in form for Irwin in British Superbikes, as top 10 finishes in all but four of the races that year - including a win at the Brands Hatch finale[18] - saw him make the showdown for the first time and ultimately take 3rd place in the standings behind Jake Dixon and champion Leon Haslam.[19] He would also experience success at that year's North West 200, taking a double victory in the superbike class.[20] Irwin departed the PBM team upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the 2018 season.
Irwin made the switch to Kawasaki machinery ahead of the 2019 season, where he would line up for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team.[21] The switch failed to repeat the previous year's successes, with Irwin and JG Speedfit Kawasaki splitting by mutual consent in the aftermath of the Snetterton round, which he had missed with a virus. It was subsequently announced that Irwin had signed a deal to race with the Tyco BMW outfit alongside Christian Iddon to replaced the injured Farmer.[22] However, he would fail to see out the year with the team, as it was announced after the Assen round that Tyco BMW had parted company with Irwin.[23] The year did bring some success, as he took another win at the North West 200 with a final lap overtake on Quattro Plant Wicked Coatings Kawasaki teammate James Hillier.[24]
For 2020, Irwin would line up alongside brother Andrew Irwin for the Honda Racing Team, where he was scheduled to compete in his first Isle of Man TT, which was subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25] He enjoyed a much better season than the previous, with a number of top 5 finishes seeing him collect fourth place in the standings[26] as well as a third win in British Superbikes at Snetterton.[27] Irwin would make the showdown once again in 2021, taking his fourth win in the series in the series at Silverstone[28] on his way to 8th in the standings.[29] Irwin would return in 2022 with Honda[30] where he would enjoy by far his most successful season to date in British Superbikes, taking second place in the standings[31] including an opening weekend hat-trick of victories at Silverstone[32] along with a double at the Brands Hatch finale. 2022 also saw a return to road racing action, as he took another double victory in the superbike class at the North West 200.[33] He also made his long-awaited TT debut, with a best finish of 8th in the Superbike TT.[34] Irwin also clocked the lap record for a newcomer with an average lap speed of 129.85 mph[4]
Irwin would return to the PBM Ducati outfit ahead of the 2023 season, where he would team up with Tommy Bridewell.[1]
On 8 July 2023, Irwin finished in second place in the final British Superbike race at Snetterton, narrowly missing out on a win to his teammate Tommy Bridewell, who secured a hat-trick in the competition.[35]
Career statistics edit
British Superbike Championship edit
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
References edit
- ^ a b c GLENN IRWIN COMPLETES PBM DUCATI LINE UP FOR 2023 BENNETTS BSB British Superbike, 2 November 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ BSB: PBM Racing Ducati confirm 2024 grid spot with Glenn Irwin Motorcycle News, 6 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024
- ^ North West 200: Glenn Irwin extends unbeaten Superbike streak to six races with 2022 double Motorcycle News, 16 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ a b 2023 IOMTT: Fastest Newcomer Glenn Irwin Says He's Not Running Next Year RideApart, 2 November 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ Glenn Irwin 2 Honda.Racing, No date given. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ Irwin joins Easton at Mar-Train Yamaha Crash.net, 15 November 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ GEARLINK KAWASAKI SET FOR MCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE DEBUT WITH WILSON Road Racing World, 23 November 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ a b Brands BSB: Irwin storms to first Supersport victory BikeSportNews, 20 April 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ Irwin remains with Gearlink Kawasaki for 2015 BikeSportNews, 28 October 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ PBM switch to Ducati for 2016 with Byrne and Irwin BennettsBike, 16 October 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ British Superbike Championship Standings 2016 Motorsport Stats, No date given. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ 2016 Macau GP: Last-lap heartbreak for ‘gutted’ Irwin BikeSportNews, 19 November 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ British Superbikes: Glenn Irwin to continue with PBM Ducati team for 2017 BBC Sport, 2 November 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ BSB: Irwin storms to debut win in dramatic Silverstone opener Motorcycle News, 9 September 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ British Superbike Championship Standings 2017 Motorsport Stats, No date given. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ 2017 NW200: Rookie Irwin takes titanic North West 200 win BikeSportNews, 13 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ 2017 Macau GP: Irwin takes maiden win in red-flagged race BikeSportNews, 18 November 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ GLENN IRWIN SCORES HIS FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON AND TAKES 3RD IN #BSB CHAMPIONSHIP Motorsport.ie, 17 October 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ British Superbike Championship Standings 2018 Motorsport Stats, No date given. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ 2018 North West 200: Saturday times and race results BikeSportNews, 19 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ Glenn Irwin Confirmed as riding for Kawasaki in 2019 British Superbike Championship Kawasaki, 26 September 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ Glenn Irwin Joins Tyco BMW for remainder of BSB season Motorcycle News, 30 July 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ TYCO BMW SPLITS WITH GLENN IRWIN AFTER JUST FOUR ROUNDS TOGETHER Visordown, 25 September 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ 2019 North West: Last-corner Irwin denies Hillier Superbike win BikeSportNews, 18 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ Glenn Irwin joins Honda Racing team for BSB and international road races BBC Sport, 20 November 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ British Superbike Championship Standings 2020 Motorsport Stats, No date given. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ BSB: Glenn Irwin wins race three at Snetterton to extend championship lead Motorcycle News, 24 August 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ HIGH DRAMA AT SILVERSTONE: GLENN IRWIN WINS AS MCAMS YAMAHA TEAMMATES CRASH OUT British Superbike, 11 September 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ British Superbike Championship Standings 2021 Motorsport Stats, No date given. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ Glenn Irwin confirmed with Honda Racing for 2022 British Superbike Championship British Superbike, 17 November 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ British Superbike Championship Standings 2022 Motorsport Stats, No date given. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ Hat-trick for Honda Racing UK at Silverstone Honda.Racing, 17 April 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ 2022 NW200: Irwin makes it six consecutive Superbike wins BikeSportNews, 14 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ 2022 Superbike TT - Database Isle of Man TT Races, No date given. Retrieved 10 May 2023
- ^ Robinson, James (9 July 2023). "Glenn Irwin 'really happy' with Snetterton weekend despite team-mate Tommy Bridewell's treble".