Glenn Irwin “couldn’t use my strength” in North West 200 Superbike win

Glenn Irwin says he wasn’t able to “use my strength of braking” as a result of a physical issue in his Superbike Race 1 battle with Dean Harrison at the North West 200.

Irwin and Harrison were able to break away from the rest of the field in the first six-lap Superbike encounter of Saturday at the North West 200 road races, with Irwin eventually coming out on top by 0.182 seconds.

But Irwin was managing several things during the race, including his own physical condition in the second half of the race and concerns over fuel consumption.

“We do struggle to make the bike last the fuel, so the plan was never to break Dean [Harrison] – I don’t think it’s possible, either, to be honest, he was riding good, he passed me in areas where people have never passed me,” Irwin told BBC Sport NI after the race.

“The guys have worked incredibly well, it’s been a challenging week with weather and lack of miles and stuff like that, but for everybody also – not just for us.

“My biggest thing is my arm, after a couple of laps I’m in a lot of trouble and I couldn’t use my strength of braking that I have. 

“I tried to manage my body on the last lap, even through Juniper Chicane on the penultimate lap I just toured through it, tried to keep some energy, because once I get on the run to Station I’m really having to work hard to hold onto the handlebars, it’s tough.”

Harrison, too, had his issues to manage although his were limited to the bike and he hopes to be able to fix them in time for the final race later today.

“I feel like I’m riding quite well,” said Harrison, speaking to BBC Sport NI. “Someone has to take it to Glenn [Irwin] this week, I didn’t want to let him ride around by himself. 

“Fair play to the Honda team, they’ve sort of built me a bit of a bike for this year’s road racing campaign and the bike’s sort of there or thereabouts, really. 

“Obviously, everyone knows how strong the Ducati is at the minute, and Glenn was riding really well come the end of Oulton Park, so it was a tough combination to beat. 

“Happy with that, can’t complain with another podium. We’ve got a few more races to go so we’ll have a go in the next three.”

He added: “I had a couple of lunges at Glenn in a few places, but he kept driving past me on the straight and I thought ‘There’s not really a lot I can do here’. 

“I’ve got a couple of little issues, to be fair, which hopefully I can fix for the race later in the day and then we can have another go.”