Holder Glenn Irwin and Michael Dunlop among top contenders for 2024 Irish Motorcyclist of Year honour at Adelaide Irish Motorbike Awards

​The Crowne Plaza Hotel is once again the venue for the sport’s glamour night, when Glenn Irwin will be hoping to retain the main accolade for a third successive year.

However, the British Superbike contender and record 11-in-a-row North West 200 Superbike winner faces stiff opposition from fellow Ulsterman Michael Dunlop, who wrote his name into the history books at the Isle of Man TT in June, when the 35-year-old surpassed his uncle Joey’s record of 26 wins.

Dunlop sealed a four-timer to extend his haul of victories at the iconic motorcycle race to 29 after he won both Supersport and Supertwin races.

He also established a new lap record in the Superbike TT at 135.97mph when he was on course for victory until an issue with the visor on his Arai helmet wiped out the Ballymoney man’s commanding lead.

Irwin, who finished second in the BSB title race in 2023, losing out by half-a-point to his then PBM Ducati team-mate Tommy Bridewell, won eight races this season as he finished third in the standings.

The Carrickfergus man also clinched a Superbike treble at the North West 200 in May, breaking the record of nine wins in the blue riband class held jointly by Joey Dunlop and Michael Rutter and extending his winning streak to 11 on the spin.

Irwin is confirmed among the special guests for the awards night on Friday, January 17 along with six-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea and Eugene Laverty, who finished as the title runner-up in the 2013 series.

“Lifting the trophy again last season was one of the proudest moments of my career,” said Irwin, who recently announced his retirement from road racing and will concentrate solely on the BSB series in 2025.

“Joey Dunlop was a huge hero to us all. To win his trophy again was very emotional.

"Every young rider aspires to be like Joey growing up and to have this trophy named after him take pride of place in my home for the last year has been a real privilege.”

Yamaha rider Rea has won the main award a record nine times and is a keen supporter of the annual bash.

“This is a really special night for the sport with all disciplines under one roof celebrating with the fans,” Rea said.

“I was so honoured to win the Adelaide Irish Motorcyclist of the year seven times in a row and also amazed that I was able to surpass the record held by the legendary Joey Dunlop.”

Joey was an eight-time winner between 1979 and 2000 and an idol to Rea.

“To beat that record was simply unreal,” he added.

“Joey was my hero growing up and to think I won the award once more than him is still hard to believe.

“The Dunlop and Rea families have a great connection as my grandfather was one of Joey’s first sponsors.

"To this day for me to even be mentioned in the same breath as Joey Dunlop is very humbling, as he was one of the greatest sporting ambassadors this country has ever had.”

Other riders set to attend in January include Lee Johnston, Alastair Seeley, Phillip McCallen, Jeremy McWilliams, Andrew Irwin and David Allingham, with more names to be announced in the coming weeks.

The awards, which will be live-streamed, will be presented by Stephen Watson and Keith Huewen.

A limited number of tickets remain. For enquiries, email [email protected]