GRAEME IRWIN
With not one, not two, but three Irwin brothers lining up on the British Superbike grid for 2020, things are bound to get exciting. We caught up with Graeme, the newest addition to the Tarmac racing scene, to find out more about the ex-motocross champ…
FB: So Graeme, tell us a bit about yourself?
GI: Well, I’m not sure what you can and can’t print these days! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m one of four brothers in the Irwin family. We all race and ride, but Glenn and Andrew are probably the most well known. Where those two went on to road racing, I went down the motocross route, and have done a load of stuff on the dirt. I did alright off-road; I managed to bag the British
Youth Championship, the British Masters Championship, won the MX Nationals two years on the trot and even a few Irish and Ulster titles. In 2017 I won the British MX-1 Motocross Championship, which is essentially the off-road version of BSB, but when I moved on to the world scene in 2018, I had a few big injuries, which really messed things up. I broke my scaphoid pretty badly and even after a load of surgeries it really was a nightmare when riding off-road, but it gave me the opportunity to go and try my hand at road racing.
FB: So was road racing just a fall back, or did you always want to do it?
GI: No, I always wanted to go and do road racing! It’s always been my aim to go over on to tarmac, but it wasn’t how I wanted to end my motocross career. It’s just one of those things though.
FB: You went straight into National Superstock 1000 last year. How much experience did you have and how hard was it?
GI: I don’t think you lot are going to believe me, but I was in the very deep of the deepest end. I showed up at the official test at the beginning of the year and I hadn’t actually ridden a road bike for a few years, or even seen my race bike, and in my first session, I was out with the superbike boys in testing as they combine classes! It was pretty heavy going, and I had to get my eye in as soon as I could. It was tough, but nowhere near as bad as the first race. Like, for starters, as there were so many entries I had to qualify, like chuck a new rear tyre in and go for it, and it all took me by surprise. I got on the grid, but I’d never even done a club race, so had no idea how it all worked; like I know it sounds stupid, but I didn’t even know if the lights went out at the start of a race! I mean like, did they flash, or what? When do you go? And how does everyone know where they are on the grid? I remember riding round on my out lap really slowly as I had no idea – it was just so different to what I was used to. Mind you, I had to do it; I had just left the world championship in motocross, and I was 27 so I didn’t have time on my side to mess about. I managed to get better over the year though, and managed to qualify sixth at the last round, which wasn’t too shabby!
FB: Wow. So what are your goals for this year, and why the jump into Superbike?
GI: To be honest, I always wanted to be on a superbike for this year. Last season was about learning the craft, how it all works and finding my way around the tracks. It’s so different, but has a lot of similarities, but I think it might actually be a bit easier for me on the superbike, in a way. I’ve never been told how to ride a bike or had any help in that respect – like I’ve never had the data and stuff to help out. You know, so to know where I can brake harder, accelerate earlier and stuff to take my riding to the next step. With Aaron in the team being an ex-rider he can help with feedback and explain it easily – it’s a big thing that made me want to go ahead with the team, and the bike has a really good engine, so it’s definitely a competitive machine. I’ve got a mountain to climb, and I’m not going to say I’m going to do this or that, but I’m looking forward to climbing that mountain. My goal is to be the first person to win a British MX and a British Superbike championship!
FB: How much help is it having Glenn and Andrew as brothers?
GI: Oh, it helps massively. Last year, Glenn actually bought the bike for me that I raced! I can say that it honestly wouldn’t have happened without him. Glenn and Andrew always believed in me and it made a massive difference in getting me on the grid. They made the transition easier for me by helping with my riding too, although a lot of the time when I was riding, they’re racing as well, so they’re too busy to be constantly helping me out. Our dad used to be a professional racer and he’s a massive help as well.
FB: Who’s the quickest?
GI: Woah, we’ll have to wait and see now we’re all on tarmac! If it came down to a last lap dash, I really don’t know – we’d always all be hard. Especially if it’s for bragging rights! It’s not just us three now either, as our other brother races in the Ulster Superbike Championship now. At the end of the day we’re four different characters, but we’re all really close; but then again, rule number one is beat your teammate… and your brothers.
FB: How’s the training been going for this year?
GI: Really good actually! Last year I went in to the season with quite a bad wrist injury. This year I’ve done quite a lot more riding, and even raced at Arenacross, which is good for keeping sharp on two wheels. I feel like I’m back to my normal self, attacking it the same as I would a motocross season – last year I went in blind.