Andrew Irwin was able to put his Knockhill demons to bed with a rostrum visit at the circuit where he picked up the injury which saw him miss most of the 2023 season 🌳after an accident in testing.

Still with Ho💧nda Racing UK after the team stood by their rider during his period on the sidelines, Irwin has been a consistent points finisher so far this season with a jump during the last round at Donington Park - taking ninth and seventh in the Sunday races.

• 2024 British Superbikes: Knoc💖khill - Qua𓆏lifying Results
• 2024 British Superbikes: Kn🥂o🌱ckhill - Race Results (1)

The #18 claimed his work building on that in practice, which lead to a 🐷better qualifying and the chance to make a strong start, was key to his success:

“I got 🍒a good start, I think that races in BSB, it normally starts from qualifying. I was on the front two rows and especially when the conditions are like this, it gives y🔴ou the opportunity to go forward".

The weather affected many of the riders differently with some falling back in tꦿhe pace with a lack of confidence and a lack of grip on slicks in the wet declared 💖race after the rain delay. Irwin was one of those pushing ahead.

The highlight of his race was his no holds barred battle on track with his brother, Ducati's Gle🌺nn Irwin, but it was his teammate Tommy Bridewell who proved to be a positive influence, but also impossible to catch:

“I think I was third, then Glenn came past, I went to fourth, and to be fair - Tommy - he’d cleared off! Then I kind of knew th𒀰at I felt quite comfortable”.

The Honda man was much more comfortable than his sibling, able to pass him back after a series of errors and then take Jason O’Halloran, in second at the time, though Rory Skinner proved a much tougher opponent, using every ounce of his local kno🤡wledge to his advantage:

“With Jason and Glenn, I was able to passꦯ them. Rory came by and kind of helped pull me away from the rest of the group. I don’t even know how big my gap was at the end to be honest”.

Irwin acknowledged the forward step he made at the last round in Donington and a🀅lso took the time to mention the lift he gets from having a teammate who can challenge for a win:

“At Donington I made a big step, probably more mentally than anything else to be honest. We haven’t really overly changed the bike but also I think from having Tommy on the other side of the garage I can look at his data and understand what he is doing… having a fast teammate has helped me, especially with being in a difficult period, so now we’ve come out of that I think I’m in a good moment and we can keep carrying some momentum into the rest of the season”.