Rhys Irwin primed for next step in career after achieving 'life's work' of winning British Supersport crown
Donegal’s Rhys Irwin feels ready for the next step in his career after achieving his “life’s work” of winning the British Supersport Championship.
Irwin will make the step up to the British Superbike class in 2026 with the Hawk Racing team alongside Northern Ireland contender and fellow BSB rookie Eugene McManus to ride the MasterMac Honda.
The 23-year-old will be going up against some of the top riders in the UK but Irwin believes he is ready to take on this latest challenge after reaching the summit in the Supersport class.
“2025 was a dream year and I always like to say it was my life’s work to win a British Supersport Championship,” he said.
“My mum and dad, my brother, everyone was happy but I think I made it their life’s work as well!
“Look, it was a brilliant year, a dream come true; also to do it for Gearlink and Michael and Ben – they’d been trying to win the championship for 20 years and said they would go back and give it one last go and I said, ‘no bother boys, leave it with me’.
“I’m so, so delighted, brilliant year, and I got to top off 2025 with a brilliant opportunity for this year with a brilliant team, Hawk Racing. I’m going to take the opportunity with both hands and I can’t wait to get going.”
Looking ahead to this year, Irwin added: “Like any years you have your good days and bad days, but I made a big step and there’s a lot of good riders in Supersport, especially the last few years.
“I was up against three other champions in Jack Kennedy, Luke Stapleford and Ben Currie, so I feel like I’ve come through Supersport and raced against some good riders, so for the next step I’ve up against more great riders but I’m looking forward to it.”