BSB Oulton Park: Dejected Andrew Irwin vows 'I'll turn this around'

The Carrickfergus rider made a positive start to the opening round at Oulton Park in free practice, but Irwin only had a solitary point to show for his efforts at the conclusion of the weekend.

A crash in race one on Saturday left him on row sixth in 17th position for race two on Sunday, which the 26-year-old finished in 15th place.

More disappointment followed in the final race of the triple-header weekend as Irwin was forced out of the race with machine trouble on the new M1000RR.

Afterwards, the Ulster rider said he would take it on the chin and fight back at Knockhill, where the championship returns from July 10-11.

“It’s wasn’t the debut with SYNETIQ BMW that I was after,” Irwin said.

“It was one of those weekends in racing that we can all have at times. It is no one’s fault, we all gave it 100 per-cent, but the weekend just didn’t come together.

“To come away with just one point is disappointing, but I’ll be back in the gym Tuesday morning, re-group and come back at Knockhill stronger and in a better frame of mind.

“Thanks to the team and everyone for their help. I’ll turn this around.”

Irwin won three times in 2020 and finished sixth in the final championship standings.

His team-mate, Danny Buchan, achieved a best result of fourth in race two at Oulton. The English rider was 12th in Saturday’s opener at the Cheshire circuit and eighth in race three.

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