The history of motorcycle racing is full of tales about brothers winning in the most important championships.
Much harder is, by contrast, to find two brothers competing in the same team in the same championship. This is the case of British Superbike riders Glenn and Andrew Irwin, who spent five months of 2018 as team-mates in Be Wiser PBM Ducati Team. This year, instead, they’ll ride for two different teams and for sure, each of them will fight hard to be the best of the pair.
FAMILY TRADITION – Glenn and Andrew Irwin haven’t reached the highest level of motorcycle racing by chance: their dad, Alan, used to ride motorycles and in the ’80s and ’90s, he collected wins and podiums especially in Ireland. Since his retirement from competition (in 1996), Alan has been following his sons very closely.
GLENN – Glenn Irwin has already achieved a lot, both nationally and internationally: he was 3rd in British Superbike in 2018, he won Macau Grand Prix in 2017 and he scored many wins in North West 200 in the past three years. This year Glenn, who’ll turn 29 on 21st March, will have a great opportunity to win BSB, as Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki signed him to replace Leon Haslam. And it seems like the first test went great…
ANDREW – While Glenn will be the top rider of Kawasaki in BSB, Andrew will contest his first full season in the championship with Honda Racing UK. The 2017 British Supersport runner-up joined Be Wiser PBM Ducati as replacement rider of Shane Byrne and after a terrible start (he caused a four-rider crash in Snetterton), he made constant progress, as he scored a first-row start in Thruxton and scratched the podium at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch.
2019 – People in the paddock agree: Irwin brothers will stand out in 2019 BSB season. They already shared the first row once (they qualified in first and second place at Thruxton) and in Brands Hatch they even fought against each other for Race 1 win. An exciting “family fight” is to be expected for the new season…
…AND THERE’S ALSO GRAEME! – If Glenn and Andrew are not enough, you should know that it’s not over, because in motocross you can find the third Irwin brother, whose name is Graeme. After becoming British Champion in 2017, last year Graeme Irwin debuted in MXGP World Championship with Hitachi KTM UK and despite some injuries, he scored many good results. Well, Alan Irwin can definitely be proud of his three sons…
Translated by Alessandro Palma