“Mega start” leads Andrew Irwin to long awaited podium return

Andrew Irwin got his Cadwell Park British Superbike race weekend off to the best possible start, with a podium for the home team, Honda Racing UK.

The Carrickfergus rider had finished Superpole down in eleventh but got a huge start, seeing him able to pick up places early on, while also admitting to benefiting from falls ahead on track:

“Starting eleventh, I thought if I’m able to go a row or two forward it would be a really good race, but I got a mega start.

I think I was seventh or eighth, got through, past Storm and then Tommy and Charlie crashed in front of me and yeah, it left me and Christian to battle it out for the podium at the end, and honestly, I feel really good.”

• 2025 British Superbikes: Cadwell Park - Qualifying Results
• 2025 British Superbikes: Cadwell Park - Race Results (1)

With a test day to begin the weekend on Friday, Irwin was happy with the improvements made ahead of round seven, building on a strong return to form in Thruxton, where the #18 took fifth, six and seventh over the three races, knocking on the door of the rostrum each time. Irwin explained:

“The bike was really strong, we made a step from the last round where we’ve got more grip. We’ve got a new part that’s definitely helping me massively, especially at the end of the race - we has much more grip that what we normally have and I was able to out-drive Christian at the end with two to go.”

The result is another step in the right direction for Irwin, who has seen Honda stand by him as their rider after a tough 2023 season, cut short after picking up an arm injury testing at Knockhill, with 2024 seeing Irwin also miss races:

“So yeah, I’m really, really happy to do it for Honda because they always stick by me. They have stuck by me the last couple of years when it’s not exactly been perfect and I think these last few rounds we’ve started to gather the momentum - and let’s try to carry that into this last half of the season.”

The result is Irwin’s first podium for the season and first since Brands Hatch in the 2024 main season, one of two rostrum visits in 2024, with the other coming at Knockhill.