BSB: Irwin secures maiden victory at Thruxton
- Published
Andrew Irwin moved to Honda for this year's BSB season after stepping in alongside brother Glenn for the second half of 2018 at Ducati
Andrew Irwin starred at Thruxton with his first British Superbike win in race one before finishing second in race two.
The Honda rider held off a nine-rider train to take his maiden victory and backed it up a second spot in race two.
Carrick rider Irwin now sits in a top-six showdown position after his best weekend to date in the series.
Elder brother Glenn was in the points on his Tyco BMW debut in race one after splitting from Kawasaki, but crashed out unhurt of race two.
Race two was twice red flagged, firstly for rain before Irwin fell off at the final chicane which left an eight-lap sprint to the flag.
Josh Brookes stormed to victory in the restart, with the younger Irwin brother edging out Peter Hickman on the line for second place.
Glenn Irwin, who is standing in for the injured Keith Farmer until the end of the season, collected points on his Tyco BMW debut but crashed out of race two
"We did loads of homework before today and we probably lacked something until this morning's warm-up," Andrew Irwin told Eurosport after his win.
"I tried to control the tyre and the pace was so fast, it was so much fun," added the 24-year-old.
"I just want to thank everyone who has helped me to get here, who have sacrificed so much for me to go racing.
"It's been a big investment for them but it's worth it for this feeling."
Josh Elliott's struggles since his victory at Silverstone on the opening weekend continued as the Ballinamallard rider finished 18th and 15th.
Elginton rider David Allingham was 19th in both races.
Supersport pain for Seeley
In the Supersport championship Alastair Seeley slipped to third in the standings and now sits 47 points off leader Jack Kennedy, with Brad Jones now splitting the pair.
Dublin rider Kennedy won Saturday's sprint race with Seeley only managing a third-place finish.
That advantage was extended further in the feature race when Seeley was handed a long-lap penalty for overtaking Mason Law under yellow flags, eventually finishing down in ninth place as Kennedy doubled up out front.
Lee Johnston was sixth and eighth in the two races ahead of the Ulster Grand Prix next weekend, with Richard Kerr also impressing with a 10th and seventh place finishes.
Ross Paterson finished in 18th and 16th at the Hampshire circuit.
Alastair Seeley lost valuable ground in the British Supersport title race and now trails Jack Kennedy by 47 points
Andrew Reid was the highest-placed Northern Irish rider in the Superstock 1000 class, finishing in eighth with Graeme Irwin collecting the last available point in 15th position.
Eunan McGlinchey was fifth in the Superstock 600 race and sits second in the standings, with fellow title contender Korie McGreevey retiring on lap three.
Kevin Keyes was in ninth place and Sam Laffins just missed out on points in 16th.
Scott Swan was fourth in the first Motorstar race but failed to finish race two, meaning the Carrick teenager is now 54 points adrift of championship leader Brandon Paasch.