NW200: Glenn Irwin 'better version of himself' as Ulster rider targets Superbike record on Hager PBM Ducati

The British Superbike title challenger is unbeaten in the premier class since 2017, when he edged out fellow Carrickfergus rider Alastair Seeley in an unforgettable finale on a breathless final lap.

It was Irwin’s maiden success at Ireland’s biggest motorcycle race and one that served as a springboard for an unforeseen record run of Superbike triumphs that has put him within striking distance of the joint record held by England’s Michael Rutter and the late, great Joey Dunlop, who have each won nine.

The 34-year-old’s breakthrough success seven years ago was achieved on the PBM Ducati Panigale V-twin, underpinning a formidable combination that would become synonymous with Irwin’s dominance in the class.

He swept the opposition aside in 2018 to seal a double on the booming 1199 Ducati, evoking memories of Blackburn rider Carl Fogarty’s 1993 brace on the Moto Cinelli Ducati.

A change of manufacturer to Kawasaki in the British Superbike Championship in 2019 ultimately proved a failure venture, but it was an unchanged script at the North West as Irwin mastered the damp conditions in the sole Superbike race to register a third win on the spin.

The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 resulted in the cancellation of the NW200, but when the event returned in 2022, Irwin picked up where he left off.

Riding for the Honda Racing team, he was made to work hard in both Superbike races by Yorkshireman Davey Todd who was breathing down his neck on Clive Padgett’s Honda, but Irwin prevailed to wrap up his second Superbike double.

He was back with Paul Bird’s Ducati team last year on the new Panigale V4 and although he had to face down challenges from Todd and Seeley respectively, Irwin’s name was etched onto the silverware once again.

With eight consecutive victories under his belt – five on Ducati machinery – the Northern Ireland man continues to set the benchmark and is again Ducati-mounted on the Hager PBM machine this week.

There are many magical moments to choose from chronicling his unprecedented streak at the North West, but Irwin finds it impossible to pick one above the rest.

“I always think about which one means the most but they all mean the same,” he said.

“The first win is the first win – a blockbuster with (Alastair) Seeley – but then the following year I was coming around and getting a board telling me I was +4 or +5 seconds [in the lead] after lap one and you’re thinking ‘I’ve never seen anyone on a Superbike do this’. That made it feel special.

“Then to win a wet race in 2019 was equally special because when I was sitting on the grid I just thought ‘I’m just going to ride around here’ but then I found something.

“In 2022, I had to work hard with Davey and I had to work hard last year because we were on the back foot,” Irwin added.

“We knew we had something for Saturday but we had very much been on the back foot until then.”

The addition of a third Superbike race to the schedule of events this year gives Irwin and his rivals a unique opportunity to claim a Superbike hat-trick.

Along with Saturday’s two six-lap races, a four-lap sprint race will kick-start proceedings on Thursday evening after the conclusion of qualifying.

An enhanced prize fund will also be an extra incentive, with Milwaukee Tools providing £6,000 to the rider with the highest points accumulation across all three Superbike races, boosting the total earnings for a Superbike triple crown to approximately £20,000.

For Irwin, though, his biggest motivation is maintaining his winning run and extending his haul to 11 straight victories to take over the mantle of the undisputed Superbike king of the North West 200 with a clean sweep.

“I’ve come through every type of challenge at the North West and I do believe I’m a better version of myself and as a team and rider combined now compared to what I was last year,” Irwin said.

“Before the North West last year I’d only rode the bike [Panigale V4R] twice really, so we were very new to Ducati.

“We had some issues throughout the week and technically we probably led ourselves the wrong way. In FP1 the steering damper wasn’t quite tight enough and we ended up going down a rabbit hole to try and make the bike stable, and it’s fair to say that while we had a bike that was extremely friendly come Saturday, it was not very agile.

“So we’ve information from last year and we tried different things in practice last year – different engine specs – which was not the best idea.

“So as a team we learned from that and ultimately when you’re on a streak you don’t want to lose it,” he added.

“The ambition is to win nine, 10, 11 and then by the end of the week if we’ve topped the Superbike win record then that would incredible.

“If I’m going to do it I want to do 11 out of 11 – I don’t want it to be 10 out of 11 and if you’re going to do it, do it right.”

Irwin should take all the beating again but he will have to bring his A-game to fend off a raft of serious contenders, with previous runner-up Todd riding the Milwaukee BMW M1000RR for TAS Racing while lap record holder Peter Hickman lines up in Portrush on his PHR Performance BMW Superstock machine.

Michael Dunlop was in the frame 12 months ago and is another name high on the Superbike shortlist along with Dean Harrison, who leads the charge for Honda Racing in a major change for the Bradford man, who rode Kawasaki machinery in the class since 2016.