Hard work has paid off for 'fittest ever' Andrew Irwin in British Superbike Championship

The Carrickfergus man won the opening two races of the delayed season at Donington Park a fortnight ago and is second in the championship standings behind his older brother Glenn going into this weekend’s second round at Snetterton.

Irwin, who was excluded from the result of race three at Donington after contact was made with Australian rider Josh Brookes, who crashed out unhurt, was fourth fastest in Friday’s free practice session at the Norfolk circuit.

The 25-year-old will also have to start Saturday’s opening race (16:15 BST) from the rear of the grid after being penalised for the incident at Donington.

Irwin said: “My race craft has improved a lot over the past 12 months and I’m a lot more mature than I was. I’ve worked harder than ever in training and if you ask Glenn how fit I am, he knows I’m fit.

“He was always my benchmark for training because he was always better than me but now I feel like I’m a lot closer to him than I ever have been, and he’s ultra-fit.

“It helps because when it comes to the end of a race it means you’re still sharp enough to put in those passes on the last lap, which is sometimes needed to get the result you want.

“I want to stay at this level, keep working hard, keep my focus and try and do a good job for Honda and repay them for the efforts that they are making.”

Irwin twice pounced on the final lap to snatch victory from Glenn at Donington after some big passes were exchanged, but there was nothing other than respect between the two brothers once they took the chequered flag.

“I was able to be there at the right time and he wasn’t able to respond,” Andrew said.

“At the end of the day we’re brothers and we know how much effort and sacrifices we’ve had to make for us both to be where we are.

“It was incredible to be racing like that with Glenn but it’s one of those moments that will never be the same again because when you’ve done it once, it probably does feel the same the second time.”

Irwin is refusing to get carried away after his headline-grabbing start to the season at Donington and says his aim going into round two is to challenge for top-six finishes.

“If we’re in the top five or six this weekend then it won’t be a bad weekend,” he said.

“We have a brand new bike at each track we go to and we have to try and find that final base. We only have two practice sessions now as well, which makes things a little more difficult.

“We’ll see at Snetterton but last year I finished fourth in race two and the Ducatis were 20 seconds ahead of me, so to bridge that gap is a big task.

“Some people said the Ducati struggled at Donington but I think the race was seven seconds faster than it was last year. But we have to be realistic and I’m not expected to win the championship this year or I didn’t even really expect to be challenging for it either.”

Danny Buchan set the pace in FP1 at Snetterton on Friday on the Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki by one second from Buildbase Suzuki’s Kyle Ryde.

Buchan’s team-mate, Lee Jackson, was third ahead of Andrew Irwin, with Glenn slotting into sixth on the time sheets behind Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati).

Josh Brookes was eighth fastest on the second of Paul Bird’s Ducati machines, while Tommy Bridewell – who won race three at Donington – was 11th on the Oxford Products Ducati.

BSB rookie Graeme Irwin was 20th, while Keith Farmer misses out through injury.

Sunday’s BSB races are scheduled for 13:30 BST and 16.:30 BST.

Meanwhile, Lee Johnston was third fastest in the Supersport class on his Ashcourt Racing Yamaha with Adam McLean (Binch Yamaha) fourth quickest in combined free practice for the Superstock 600 class, with Simon Reid in seventh (Yamaha).

The British Supersport Sprint race takes place on Saturday at 17:05 BST, with the main race on Sunday at 15:35 BST.

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