Treble NW200 Victory For History Maker Irwin
Glenn Irwin made history at the International North West 200 when he became the most successful Superbike rider in the history of the event as the Hager PBM Ducati rider won all three races around the high-speed 8.97-mile circuit linking the Northern Ireland towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush.
Irwin’s victories made it eleven Superbike wins in total and saw him surpass the previous record of nine, held jointly by the late Joey Dunlop and Michael Rutter.
Both qualifying sessions on Wednesday and Thursday signalled Glenn’s intentions and with a fastest lap of 125.928mph, which was some 2.3 seconds inside the outright lap record, he duly lined up in pole position for the first Superbike race held over four laps on Thursday evening.
As expected, the race saw Glenn go head-to-head with Davey Todd and although his BMW rival led for the first two laps, the Carrickfergus rider moved into the lead at the Juniper chicane next time around. It remained close but Glenn kept Todd at bay and duly took the chequered flag for his ninth NW200 victory, 2.545s clear of Todd. He also claimed the lap record, this time officially with a lap of 125.779mph.
The second race, held over the longer distance of six laps, took place early on Saturday afternoon with the Causeway Coast blessed with sunshine and it followed a similar pattern to Thursday’s race. On this occasion, Glenn took the lead on the third lap and although it remained close, he again kept Todd behind him, his winning margin on this occasion 0.382 seconds.
That just left the feature Superbike race, again held over six laps, and Glenn went hard at it with Todd once more with Honda’s Dean Harrison also in contention. Todd led for the first two laps before Glenn went into the lead on lap three and although there were a few more changes in the lead, Glenn made a move at University on the sixth and final lap stick and took the victory, his eleventh Superbike win in a row, from Todd by just under half a second.
Glenn Irwin: “To take a hat-trick and become the most successful Superbike rider in the history of the North West 200 feels really, really special. The team and I have worked hard this season and to respond to the challenges of two great riders like Davey and Dean isn’t easy and all three races were hard. I had to go to their level to win. It's an amazing achievement to win eleven races in a row and although some people ride harder than me here, I can find a way to win. When I first came here, I probably won some races on talent alone but since 2020, I've worked hard in other areas and that's why I keep winning. It means so much to me to win here as it’s my favourite event in the world and although it feels wrong to take a record from Joey Dunlop, I'm incredibly proud to do it. I feel on top of my game and love the team, every single one of them so with the hat-trick here and at Oulton Park last weekend, it’s my best week in racing.”
Jordan Bird, Joint Team Owner: “Six wins in six days at both Oulton Park in BSB and then here at the NW200 has been a dream. We’re just having a great time and Glenn is on fire at the minute. It’s pretty special for my brother Frank and I and our wonderful team so it’s a massive thank you to them and of course Glenn and our sponsors for making it happen. It’s now back to the day job of BSB so we will regroup and then head for Donington Park to try to keep this winning streak going.”
Briggs Equipment Superbike race (4 laps)
1 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati)
2 Davey Todd (BMW) +2.545s
3 Michael Dunlop (Honda) +16.786s
4 Peter Hickman (BMW) +17.230s
5 Dean Harrison (Honda) +18.286s
6 Conor Cummins (Honda) +34.509s
Anchor Bar Superbike race (6 laps)
1 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati)
2 Davey Todd (BMW) + 0.382s
3 Michael Dunlop (Honda) +19.255s
4 James Hillier (Honda) +1m01.866s
5 Michael Rutter (BMW) +1m03.292s
6 Erno Kostamo (BMW) +1m03.551s
Merrow Hotel & Spa Superbike race (6 laps)
1 Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati)
2 Davey Todd (BMW) +0.464s
3 Dean Harrison (Honda) +3.342s
4 Michael Dunlop (Honda) +23.903s
5 Paul Jordan (Honda) +59.740s
6 Michael Rutter (BMW) +1m02.104s
Pictures (courtesy of Double Red): Glenn Irwin took three victories at the North West 200 & pictured with Frank & Jordan Bird.
