Triangle course titan Glenn Irwin is firmly on the hunt for a distinct piece of Northwest 200 racing history in May, the all time SBK wins record, presently jointly held by Michael Rutter and Joey Dunlop (Nine wins each).
Fourth, eighth from the opening British Superbike Championship races of 2024 at Circuito De Navarra in Spain, the drive to enhance an NW200 CV, which features eight successive Superbike victories, is never far from his mind.
Commenting about upcoming 2024 NW200 action, the introduction of a Superbike race to the schedule on Thursday of race week, Hager PBM Ducati’s Irwin stated:
“One thing I would love to do at this year’s Northwest is to turn around my practice form.
Last year we qualified on the third row after a terrible Tuesday, putting myself under pressure. I know what the bike, team and I are capable of, but I’d like to discover that earlier in the week just to settle my mind.
Mervyn Whyte has given the rest of the field an extra chance to beat me with the new race. In the past my schedule at the Northwest has been Tuesday and Thursday morning qualifying and then nothing until Saturday while the other guys have been racing on Thursday evening.
Sometimes I’ve started Saturday a bit rusty because of that, so the Thursday sprint race might help me.”
He went onto add:
“When you are on a run like I have had at the Northwest the target is big. I understand it because if I was one of my rivals I would be obsessed with beating me.
Not winning all three races this year would be a disappointment and equalling the record just won’t be good enough. I couldn’t retire from the Northwest without beating the record.”
Speaking of records, in June, the all-time TT wins record could be on the horizon for Michael Dunlop.
Acknowledging this, Irwin was full of respect, praise for his fellow countryman’s achievements.
“We are very different characters and we both have had our struggles, but I look up to Michael in many ways.
As someone who has done the TT, I can say that what Michael has achieved there is phenomenal against a serious level of riders across different eras, and I applaud him for it.”
Quotes courtesy of Stephen Davison
Photo courtesy of Stephen Davison
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou