THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD Rhys Irwin from Kilmacrennan secured his name in racing archives over the weekend.
Irwin put Donegal on the map again as he became only the third Irish Motorcycle rider following in the footsteps of Jamie Hamilton Antrim 2006 and Andy Reid Belfast 2009 to win a British Superteen Championship race.
This is the longest running Championship in Europe and boasts to being the breeding ground for many World Champions such as Casey Stoner and Karl Krutchlow.
It was a very proud youngster that stood on the top step of the podium to accept his accolade saying that it hadn’t
quite sunk in.
“It was a hard start to the season as we had no pre-season testing, we just don’t have the budget for it, so for me it was just a case of sitting onto the bike and racing,” Irwin said. “It took a few laps to get into the swing of things again after the long winter break but I have a great team so we didn’t have to make too many adjustments.”
The teen also secured two other podium finishes over the weekend. His older brother Caolán is contesting two British Championships for the 2016 season.
The 450cc RRV Aprilia Championship and the Supertwin 650cc Championship. Also putting on a sterling performance he secured no less than five podium finishes and two 4th place finishes.
The ever modest teen also found the weekend very tough racing in two series but he was delighted to be bringing home some very impressive silverware.
“The level of racing in the UK is very high and to come to Brands Hatch and finish in the top ten would have been an achievement but to do battle for the front with seasoned British Champions not to mention the French was mega and exhausting,” Caolan Irwin said.
“I really have a good team behind me but the bike set up was hard due to the driving rain on saturday and then cold dry tracks on Sunday. The Supertwin Championship is brand new for me this year and I’m racing it on a 550cc against the bigger 650cc machines.”
Both brothers are racing for Scott Racing Ltd again for the 2016 season. When asked what its like to have a brother as a team mate, Caolán said “It’s both the best and the worst thing. We don’t have any sibling rivalry we support each other in our physical preparation but there is a level of anxiety for each other while on the track.
“This weekend I feel I have outdone any expectations I had for results but I would like to congratulate Rhys at only 13 to finish with a win in the very prestigious Superteen Championship ahead of 19-year-old Edgley is unbelievable.’
The brothers would like to thank Trevor team owner for the opportunity to race with him again for the 2016 season, Team engineers Andrew, Gary and their father Ivan, most of all their long standing personal sponsor James
Gallagher of Oasis Bar, Letterkenny without whom they wouldn’t be able to race.
The boys can be seen in action on Sky Motors TV.
Tags: