Irwin enjoying ‘crazy’ track on NW200 debut

British Supersport front-runner Glenn Irwin says that he’s loving his debut at the North West 200 – despite admitting that the high speed track is even faster than he ever expected it to be.

“The track is crazy though! It’s so fast – even more than I expected – and the chicanes just come up on you! I would love to ride the old track, without them – even though they probably suit my riding style – because I can’t believe how fast they appear! Every time it’s like ‘oh shiiiiiiiiiit, I’m not getting stopped!’ – but it’s good fun! I thought Oulton Park would be similar, but no way – it’s crazy!”

Despite that, however, the Gearlink Kawasaki rider is making impressive progress, finishing the day fifth in the supersport session despite struggling with getting track time in the dry.

“It was a good day for me, despite only getting to ride the supersport bike in the wet. The plan at the start had been to get out in the newcomers session on it, which was dry, but we had a technical problem and I ended up taking the supertwin instead.

“To be honest I was only riding the bike really easy – but the bike just felt really natural and comfortable. The supertwin was way off on ride height though, dangerously so – wobbling its nuts off! I ended up just riding around to get a few laps done.

“I wouldn’t read into any of the day’s lap times though – I haven’t rode the six hundred in the dry yet! Hopefully Thursday will be dry, because I need the time on the bike in those conditions, but it’s been a good day nonetheless. I’m learning the track and I’m enjoying it.”