Honda Racing’s Dean Harrison will return to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship grid at Oulton Park this weekend (3/4/5 October) and the season finale at Brands Hatch (17/18/19 October), standing in for the injured Andrew Irwin.
Harrison has celebrated plenty of success with the team on the roads, whilst also competing in the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship alongside five-time series champion Jack Kennedy, with positive results. Irwin will miss the final two rounds of the season as he continues his recovery from injury and subsequent surgery after the Donington Park round, after podium finishes for the team at Cadwell Park.
Harrison said: “I’m quite excited, actually, although in fairness I’ve been enjoying my time on the CBR600RR. Unfortunately, Andrew’s been injured and it’s not the way that anyone would want to join BSB, but I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t ridden a Superbike on a short circuit since March - obviously, I’ve raced it on the roads, but comparing the TT and Oulton Park is a bit like chalk and cheese!
“It’s going to be an eye-opener because the team’s done so much development work in the last six months. I’ve got a lot of things to learn with the team. Obviously, I shall support Jack’s bid for the Supersport championship in whatever way I can, we work very closely together each weekend, but I’m sure he’s going to be alright!”
Irwin commented: “Looking back over the season, from Knockhill onwards we really hit a sweet spot where we were super fast and super consistent, and I’m proud of the results this year. I think it hurts more that it was all going in the right direction when a small mistake had such a massive price to it with the injury.
“But I don’t think that there’s a better person to step into my shoes than Dean. He’s been the main guy at the TT and on the roads, and I’m delighted that he’s getting the opportunity to see the improvements that we’ve made to the bike. I’ll still be coming and supporting the team, and Dean in particular, and I’m sure he’s going to make the most of being out there.”
Team Principal Neil Fletcher concluded: “When it comes to having a ‘super-sub’ on hand to fill in for one of our BSB riders, Dean fits the bill perfectly. He has enjoyed a supremely competitive season with Honda Racing and BSB is familiar territory to him, with seven seasons in the Superbike class under his belt. Obviously, the circumstances are not ideal, and we continue to support Andrew in his recovery and share his disappointment that he won’t be racing again before the end of the year after such a strong summer.”