| Glenn Irwin | |
| Nationality: | Northern Irish |
| Birth Date: | 1990 3, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland |
| Bike Number: | 2 |
| Bsb Active Years: | 2016–present |
| Bsb Manufacturers: | Ducati, BMW, Kawasaki, Honda |
| Bsb Championships: | 0 |
| Bsb Race Starts: | 180 |
| Bsb Race Wins: | 11 |
| Bsb Podiums: | 37 |
| Bsb Poles: | 12 |
| Bsb Fastest Laps: | 5 |
| Bsb Last Season: | 2023 |
| Bsb Last Position: | 2nd (454.5 pts) |
Glenn Irwin (born 21 March 1990 in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland) is a professional road racer of motorcycles, and the brother of racer Andrew Irwin. For 2023, he raced for the Paul Bird Motorsport Ducati team in the British Superbike Championship, losing the championship by half-a-point, and in road racing events such as the North West 200 aboard a Ducati Panigale V4 R.[1]
Irwin was confirmed in March 2024 to be continuing with his former team, renamed as PBM Racing following the death of Paul Bird, as a single rider entry in British Superbikes.[2]
Irwin has experienced success on both short circuits and the roads, with runner-up spots in the 2022 British Superbike Championship, 21 points behind champion Bradley Ray, and again in 2023 by a half-point to teammate Tommy Bridewell.
Irwin also has allied eleven wins at the North West 200, all in the superbike class including doubles at the 2018 and 2022 meetings.[3] Irwin also holds the lap record for the fastest newcomer at the Isle of Man TT, set in 2022 with a lap clocked at 129.85 mph.[4]
Irwin secured his first title in 2008 by taking the Irish Clubman 125 championship, which was backed up the following year by victory in the Ulster Supersport Championship and Supersport Cup.[5] The following year, he made his debut in the British Championships, with a runners up spot in the 2011 National Superstock 600 Championship to fellow Northern Irishman Keith Farmer seeing him secure his status as top rookie in the championship that year.
2012 saw Irwin compete in the 2012 British Supersport Championship where he finished the season in 9th place, winning the privateer's championship over Luke Jones. He would return the following year in the Supersport Championship for the Mar-Train Yamaha Team alongside Stuart Easton,[6] where he would again finish the season in 9th place. For 2014, Irwin would return in the Supersport Championship but for a different team and manufacturer, as the off-season had seen him switch to the Gearlink Kawasaki team alongside Ben Wilson.[7] His season got off to the best possible start by taking his maiden victory in British Supersport at the opening round on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.[8] This would be added to with four further victories across the remainder of the season, seeing him end the season in 4th place. He extended his stay with the Gearlink Kawasaki outfit during the off-season for the 2015 season,[9] where he would score another 4th-place finish, taking 3 victories and 10 podiums on his way.
2016 would see Irwin step up to the British Superbike Championship with PBM Ducati, where he would race alongside Shane Byrne.[10] He would finish the season in 12th place, picking up a podium apiece at Thruxton and Brands Hatch as teammate Byrne won the title.[11] The 2016 season would also see him make his debut at the Macau Grand Prix, where a technical problem cost him a potential podium finish.[12] Irwin returned with PBM in 2017 after signing a new two-year deal with the Cumbrian team,[13] where he would take his maiden win in British Superbike with victory in the first race of the Silverstone round,[14] ending the season in 12th place once more.[15] He made his debut appearance at the North West 200 that year, where he would take a debut win in the superbike class ahead of Alastair Seeley by just 0.172 seconds.[16] He was also victorious at the Macau Grand Prix, taking victory over Peter Hickman.[17] 2018 would see a sharp upturn in form for Irwin in British Superbikes, as top 10 finishes in all but four of the races that year - including a win at the Brands Hatch finale[18] - saw him make the showdown for the first time and ultimately take 3rd place in the standings behind Jake Dixon and champion Leon Haslam.[19] He would also experience success at that year's North West 200, taking a double victory in the superbike class.[20] Irwin departed the PBM team upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the 2018 season.
Irwin made the switch to Kawasaki machinery ahead of the 2019 season, where he would line up for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team.[21] The switch failed to repeat the previous year's successes, with Irwin and JG Speedfit Kawasaki splitting by mutual consent in the aftermath of the Snetterton round, which he had missed with a virus. It was subsequently announced that Irwin had signed a deal to race with the Tyco BMW outfit alongside Christian Iddon to replaced the injured Farmer.[22] However, he would fail to see out the year with the team, as it was announced after the Assen round that Tyco BMW had parted company with Irwin.[23] The year did bring some success, as he took another win at the North West 200 with a final lap overtake on Quattro Plant Wicked Coatings Kawasaki teammate James Hillier.[24]
For 2020, Irwin would line up alongside brother Andrew Irwin for the Honda Racing Team, where he was scheduled to compete in his first Isle of Man TT, which was subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25] He enjoyed a much better season than the previous, with a number of top 5 finishes seeing him collect fourth place in the standings[26] as well as a third win in British Superbikes at Snetterton.[27] Irwin would make the showdown once again in 2021, taking his fourth win in the series in the series at Silverstone[28] on his way to 8th in the standings.[29] Irwin would return in 2022 with Honda[30] where he would enjoy by far his most successful season to date in British Superbikes, taking second place in the standings[31] including an opening weekend hat-trick of victories at Silverstone[32] along with a double at the Brands Hatch finale. 2022 also saw a return to road racing action, as he took another double victory in the superbike class at the North West 200.[33] He also made his long-awaited TT debut, with a best finish of 8th in the Superbike TT.[34] Irwin also clocked the lap record for a newcomer with an average lap speed of 129.85 mph[4]
Irwin would return to the PBM Ducati outfit ahead of the 2023 season, where he would team up with Tommy Bridewell.[1]
On 8 July 2023, Irwin finished in second place in the final British Superbike race at Snetterton, narrowly missing out on a win to his teammate Tommy Bridewell, who secured a hat-trick in the competition.[35]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)