Glenn Irwin has hailed his record-breaking run in his first Isle of Man TT outing as ‘a dream’ after smashing the newcomers’ TT record in fine style.
One of the most keenly watched rider competing at the TT this year, Irwin’s progress has stolen headlines this week after ramping his pace up to a 128.1mph on Friday evening, placing him third on the all-time newcomers’ reckoning behind Peter Hickman and Davey Todd.
However, in race trim on the factory Honda CBR1000RR-R, Irwin was able to comfortably exceed Peter Hickman’s erstwhile eight-year old newcomer record of 129.1mph, producing a best of 129.849mph en route to a fine eighth place result overall in the Superbike TT.
“First-ever TT race for me, I really enjoyed it. I was so nervous when I went out, I could barely talk. I saw my first pit-board which was P12, which was more than what I thought.
“I chipped away and by lap four, I think the gap was 15secs in front and 40secs behind, so I took it steady on lap five and then went for it on the final lap.”
Admitting to nerves setting in on the startline, especially as he signalled to brothers and fellow races Graeme and Andrew, Irwin feels he can go for the magic 130mph marker later in the week.
“On the grid I nearly couldn’t talk, there is a lot of emotion and people don’t see the reality. You see your brothers and they do give you that look of not knowing is that the last… you know, if you get that, there is a part of your brain asking ‘why are you doing this?’
“To break the newcomer record in the first race, it’s not what I expected… maybe at the end of the week, but it’s a dream.”
