#2 Glenn Irwin
Last year’s early leader is ready to win
Glenn Irwin enjoyed a renaissance in his racing career last year after making the successful move to Honda Racing UK. Like brother Andrew, Glenn led the all-new Fireblade to instant glory and ended up leading much of the championship. Consistency was the key to Irwin’s early success, finishing no lower than fourth in the opening nine races. Things fizzled out a little towards the end, but it’s important to remember he’s had a tough 2020 season and it was the first campaign with the all-new Blade which didn’t complete much testing or development. All in all, though, it was a much-needed year for the Northern Irishman.
“It was important, I showed I still had speed, but I feel that I’ve improved a lot of my character and hopefully I surprised people in that way,” Irwin told MCN. “That kind of mannerism, you can carry that to the track.”
A key part to Irwin’s success was working with vastly experienced Honda boss Havier Beltran. It’s fair to say that he was perhaps the final piece of the puzzle with regards to Irwin once again finding his place on the grid and proving to people that he’s capable of winning races. “I think Harv can tell if I’m not in a good place. Thankfully that hasn’t been the case recently, we all have up and down days, but my up and down days are no different to anybody else’s now. Harv’s great, we have an honest relationship and I have plenty of faith in his vision and his style of management.”
Of course, things change heading into 2021. Fans now expect Honda and Irwin to challenge for the title. They’ve had plenty of new parts, time to fine-tune their setup and racked up the mileage during the test tour.
That won’t phase this version of Glenn Irwin though. He matured a lot last year and his racecraft has been taken up a notch – after all, he’s in the experienced 30+ age bracket now and that’s the BSB sweet spot. He did a fantastic job of keeping his feet on the ground last year, and he will do the same again this season.
SHAKEY SAYS…
“Glenn is like a new person! He’s really embraced the role at Honda; he’s enjoying his time there, whilst the bike is being developed with and around him and that’ll work perfectly for Glenn. I really hope this can be a big year for him and that he can consistently win races.”