Ballymoney's Darryl Tweed has 'one hand' on clinching last-ever IRRC Superbike title ahead of championship finale at Frohburg
Ballymoney’s Darryl Tweed is on the cusp of being crowned IRRC Superbike champion at this weekend’s final round of the European road racing series at Frohburg in Germany.
Tweed leads the standings by 48 points from Laurent Hoffmann going into the weekend’s two races following a brilliant run of seven consecutive runner-up finishes.
Riding the Never Be Clever Racing Yamaha R1, Tweed only needs three points to claim what would be an historic title, following the decision to drop the Superbike class from the International Road Racing Championship from 2026 on safety grounds.
Tweed is poised to follow in the footsteps of previous IRRC champions including English riders Danny Webb and Davey Todd, and European riders Didier Grams and David Datzer.
However, the Ulster rider is taking nothing for granted until the title is safely wrapped up on Sunday.
“All being well, if I don’t do anything stupid,” Tweed said of his championship prospects this weekend. “I need three points so I’ve one hand on it.
“It would definitely be special to win it, especially with it being the last-ever [Superbike] championship too.”
Tweed grasped the chance to compete at the European road races for a fresh challenge and because of a dwindling Irish road racing calendar in recent years, with no events taking place in the Republic of Ireland since 2022.
“It was a chance to go and see what the IRRC was all about, and it was a nice change from normal,” he said.
“I get on well with the team and anything I ask for, I get. They try their best and you can’t really ask for much more from anyone when it’s like that, and they put the effort into what we need.
“The R1 is a great bike, it lacks a wee bit in speed but it’s a great handling bike and you can work with it.
“It’s more suited to shorter circuits rather than the likes of the North West and TT, where you struggle more with it at those places,” added Tweed, who is 11th in the IRRC Supersport Championship.
“I can get the bike where it feels nice and right, but then it won’t change direction at high speed, so you’re compromising with her the whole time.
“But it’s not so bad at the IRRC races and it works well.”
Magherafelt man Paul Jordan is also competing this weeked at Frohburg as he makes his IRRC debut.
The North West 200 Supertwin race winner will be a guest rider for the Laserscanning Europe by PSB Motorsport team.