Glenn Irwin looks to Donington BSB after “incredible” Oulton Park turnaround

The opening round of the 2026 BSB season was one of recovery for Glenn Irwin, who struggled with technical issues for most of the weekend.

Irwin experienced significant electronics issues throughout the weekend at Oulton Park on 2–4 May, leaving him out of the points in Race 1 and retiring early in Race 2.

Starting from the fourth row in the final race of the weekend, Irwin was finally able to put in a clean race, finishing fifth and demonstrating podium-contending pace.

It was a satisfying turnaround for Irwin and came just before the North West 200 began on 6 May, where he would win his 12th successive Superbike race in the opening ‘big bike’ outing of Saturday before finishing third in the final race of the day.

Now back on the short circuits, Irwin is hopeful that the upcoming Donington Park round (15–17 May) will follow the path set by Race 3 at Oulton Park.

“It was incredible to end up where we did at the end of Oulton Park,” Irwin told BritishSuperbike.com.

“It was a reflection of a lot of hard work with the team and a testament to their resilience to overcome so much adversity and honestly, I have never experienced that in my entire career. 

“And not over just once weekend, over a prolonged period of time so it was unbelievable what they had thrown at them on top of the bikes arriving late and there was already long days – my guys deserved a few beers!

“BSB is my main goal as everyone knows and to do what we had done and to end race three back at the sharp end as such, bodes so well for the next round and the remainder of the season. I think we start now!”

Despite the positive end to the weekend, Irwin’s tough start means he enters Donington 39 points behind his teammate, Kyle Ryde, in the riders’ standings after the reigning and two-time BSB champion won all three races at round one.