Glenn Irwin leads the Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings ahead of the next clash of the season at Snetterton, but the Honda Racing rider expects a tough fight when the title battle resumes in Norfolk this weekend (August 21/22/23).
The debut performance of the new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP surpassed expectations, and even reflecting on the opening round, Glenn Irwin admits he was not expecting the results that they achieved straight away.
“For sure it definitely exceeded expectations,” said Glenn. “As in from the test I knew we were, if everyone was true to form, in the top six. After free practice one we were in the top five I think in consistency, but lacking some outright pace, and I knew by free practice two we were now in the battle for the podium positions. So to come away with what is now three second positions, it was a dream weekend.”
Coming close to victory in the opening two races, Glenn Irwin admits that the weekend was the perfect start to the season for him, even if he didn’t claim a win, because the consistency puts him at the top of the standings even at this early stage.
“I spoke to the team and I don’t feel like a win would’ve made it any sweeter,” reflected Glenn Irwin. “Particularly now with having the championship lead following the judicial decisions after race three. It was a fantastic weekend for me, it was nice that the bike was competitive, not just from the first lap but until the very last lap and that’s what makes your results.”
The on track rivalry with brother Andrew created a spectacle that racing fans had been waiting for since last October, and with the pair so equally matched, it was a close fought contest until the chequered flag.
“It was really really good fun,” said Glenn talking of his battle with his brother. “There wasn’t a lot of trading blows with Andrew, there was always going to be the last lap like in every race as such, but it wasn’t like multiple lunges.
“So race one I didn’t really know Andrew was behind me as I thought I was fighting with Josh and I kind of got a bit of a shock when he came by as I didn’t expect to be passed there, as Josh wasn’t as strong in that area - it was actually Andy!
“Race two was nice because I could see his pit board as well, I was in control of the race and I actually think I did a good job in that race. We made a mistake with throwing away the win.
“Regardless of what happened on the last laps looking back on it it’s a proud moment and I’m sure if the two of us can fight, we can motivate, and do a team job as in we cut through the pack together like we did in race three without hindering each other.
“We can throw it all on the table for a last lap scrap, Andrew might have got the better of them on that occasion but I expect a lot more. We’ll keep working to make sure we’re stronger for the future races.”
The hectic rounds on the Donington Park National cirit was just a warm up for the races this weekend in Norfolk, but Glenn Irwin admits he expects Snetterton to be even more of a dogfight.
“Donington National throws up some great, tight racing and some shocks, and that’s one of the reasons why I’m keen not to get complacent with Snetterton,” he added. “For sure we knew the Ducatis would be strong because they’re the benchmark in Superbike racing across the world at the minute - we have to respect how early the Fireblade is in its life.
“We knew the Yamahas would be strong, Jason and Taz are two top riders, Danny was strong as well, maybe not the best track for the Kawasaki, so I wouldn’t be reading into his performance too much because last year the Kawasaki wasn’t phenomenal at that track either.
“It didn’t surprise me as in the Championship there’s a depth of teams with all different manufacturers, the privateer Ducati teams like MotoRapido are as competitive as the main team, there’s good riders on every brand of machinery, which makes it more interesting. It makes our job a little bit harder but that’s what you want!”
A ten-point lead in the standings at this early stage marks a huge turnaround to the Glenn Irwin that lined up on the grid last season, and the opening three rounds have given the Honda Racing rider a massive confidence boost ahead of Snetterton.
“I am really looking forward to Snetterton; it’s nice when you can roll into a round as the championship leader which is a new feeling for me in Superbike racing. I expect Snetterton to be harder for us, as for sure we have a lot more to find there than what we did at Donington after leaving that test.
“It might be a case of coming away and grabbing as much as we can this weekend rather than maybe going out to chase some wins. But who knows, if the team works hard, I work hard, Andrew works hard, we work hard together - we’ll be trying to close that gap that I think is going to be there at the moment.
“I am aware that the Ducatis enjoyed a good margin over the rest of the field last year so my target is first of all to reduce that significantly and then anything else is going to be a bonus.
“We don’t get complacent with results and we keep working but I’m thankful to everyone around me and it’s been so good to be the Glenn Irwin that first came into the British Superbike paddock back in 2011 as a real happy go lucky Superstock 600 rider!”