Andrew Irwin holds off brother Glenn to seal thrilling Honda one-two in first British Superbike race of season at Donington Park
Carrickfergus brothers Andrew and Glenn Irwin served up a thriller in the opening British Superbike race of 2020 as they gave the new Honda Fireblade a dream one-two result at Donington Park.
Andrew narrowly held off his older brother on a breathless final lap to clinch his second BSB win for the Honda team by only 0.119s, making a decisive pass at the Old Hairpin.
Glenn, who joined his brother in the Louth-based team this season to ride the brand-new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade, tried to hit back, but Andrew was able to hold on to secure victory.
Aussie Josh Brookes, who finished as the runner-up in the championship in 2019, finished third on the PBM VisionTrack Ducati, 0.8s behind the race winner.
His new team-mate, Christian Iddon, took fourth place ahead of Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Ducati), with Luke Mossey completing the top six on the Rich Energy/OMG Racing BMW.
Buildbase Suzuki’s Kyle Ryde, who was the early leader, was forced out of the race with a problem as he remained in contention for the rostrum.
His team-mate, Ulsterman Keith Farmer, was ruled out for the weekend after sustaining a right shoulder ligament injury following a crash at Redgate corner in qualifying.
BSB newcomer Graeme Irwin crashed out of the race unhurt on his Kawasaki.
Dublin's Jack Kennedy finished 13th on the TAG Racing Yamaha, while Waterford's Brian McCormack was 19th on the Roadhouse Macau/ON1 Racing BMW.