British Superbikes: Andrew Irwin now feels like he belongs on BSB grid
- Published
Honda Racing rider Andrew Irwin secured his maiden BSB race win at Thruxton in August
Andrew Irwin says he now feels "like I belong" on the British Superbike grid as he prepares to begin his second full season in the series.
Irwin retains his ride with the Honda Racing team for 2020 - but with a new version of the Fireblade to ride and his brother Glenn as his team-mate.
"I feel like I belong now. I said that after I won at Thruxton last season but now I honestly believe it," said Irwin.
"I just can't afford to make the silly mistakes that I have in the past."
Before this weekend's opener at Donington, the Carrickfergus rider added: "Initially I maybe had that bit of doubt in the back of my mind but I believe the team we have can give me a good bike and a good opportunity.
"I learned a lot in the half-season I stood in for Shane Byrne at PBM Ducati in 2018 but in my first full year in 2019 I learned a lot more."
'Revolutionary new Fireblade is awesome'
Irwin finished eighth in the championship last year, with the help of that maiden win at Thruxton, but says the new machine provided for him by the Japanese manufacturer gives him a better chance of success in the revised truncated six-round series this year.
"When the new Fireblade was released, I got excited straight away. I knew that we needed something revolutionary and that's what we've got. For me as a race bike it's awesome," said the 25-year-old.
"We had positive tests in Spain before the onset of the coronavirus lockdown and then in the two most recent tests, we eliminated some things that we tried. We've gone back to what we knew.
"With the new bike we are only going to get stronger and stronger - we haven't got a lot to work with yet but what we do have I think we can do a good job with."
Irwin's win at Thruxton was the highlight of his 2019 season
Beating Ducatis 'a big ask'
The PBM Ducati team took first and second places in the championship last term, with Scott Redding taking the title and Josh Brookes securing runner-up spot.
With Redding having departed to contest World Superbikes, Australian Brookes will start the 2020 campaign as favourite, with Christian Iddon as his new team-mate.
"The Ducatis dominated the series last year so for us to step in with a brand new bike and expect to beat them is a big ask, it's something I'm not sure we are ready to do yet," conceded Irwin.
"If we get close, I'll be happy - certainly with this bike we have an opportunity to battle with those guys.
"With each round we will hopefully get more information from Honda in Japan and more material to try.
"Three races at every round is going to be difficult for all the riders and teams - it'll be a lot more stressful and consistency will be key."
The BSB series is starting four months later than originally scheduled because of the restrictions put in place to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and this weekend's races will be held behind closed doors.