Rhys Irwin excited for the step up to British Superbike Championship in 2026

Rhys Irwin is making another step up in his career in 2026, and the Kilmacrennan man is looking forward to what’s to come.

2025 was a highlight in his career to date, and his successes throughout the year earned him a move to the British Superbike class.

Irwin had been competing for Gearlink by Performance 15, as he was crowned the Quattro Group British Supersport champion for 2025 at Brands Hatch in October.

Irwin won six races throughout the season and was on the podium 13 times.

In August, in Round seven of the British Championship at Cadwell Park, he set the fastest lap time ever at the race track on his Suzuki GSXR 750 cc motorbike.

That saw him named the 2025 Short Circuit Rider of the Year at the Irish Motorbike Awards in Belfast last month, while he also picked up a Donegal Sports Star Award in the Motor Cycling Category at the end of January.

“It’s a brilliant event,” Rhys said at the Donegal Sports Star Awards, where he picked up his fifth award at the event on the celebration of the 50th awards.

“I love coming to it, and after having a good year, it’s lovely to come here and celebrate along with loads of other really talented athletes.

“I was at the Irish Motorbike Awards night a couple of weeks ago, and I said it was my life's work to win it because I had spent my whole life building towards winning a British Championship and to tick that off is amazing. It was an unbelievable year for myself and definitely the highlight of my career so far.

“You don’t always get the chance to reflect on your season, it’s usually just straight into the next thing, so it’s nice to have this to round out the year.”

The 23-year-old spends a lot of his season travelling and is still based in Donegal, so weekends involve a lot of to and fro across the Irish Sea, although the off-season is a bit more relaxed.

“This time of year, I would be basing myself a lot in Spain and training and preparing for the year, then once the season begins, I’m based at home.

“The travelling isn’t as glamorous as you might think, but that’s all part of it.

“My team are based in the UK and trying to organise tests or get stuff done, other than on race weekends, then you have to go over for that, and it all takes time, so it isn’t completely straightforward.

“But I love living and being in Donegal, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. During the summer, I do a little bit of training up around Cookstown, but it’s probably one thing the guys who are based in the UK would have a bit of an advantage in that way.

Irwin alludes to his familial influence in his career, coming from his father Ivan, while his older brother, Caolan, also went down the same route and had successes in the Ulster Superbike Championships in 2025.

“My dad raced in road racing when he was younger, and I got into it from him.

“I started racing in Motocross in the Errigal Motor Club as soon as I was old enough. I was probably only five when I had my first race, and it all snowballed from there.

“It’s a hobby and something you can do to enjoy, but through the years and winning more stuff, it became more and more to me.

“I was fortunate also through my career that my brother Caolan was older than me so when I was coming behind, he would have already done that stuff, and he might have learned the stuff the hard way, whereas I learned from him.”

Irwin’s rise has continued, and he has signed for the MasterMac Surfacing Hawk Racing team for 2026, where he will compete in the Superbike Class, alongside fellow rookie Eugene McManus from Belfast.

Operating out of Mallory Park in Leicestershire, Irwin moves up to the 1000cc class on a 

Honda Fireblade and the step up is another exciting chapter ready to begin in his career.

Fellow Kilmacrennan man Richard Kerr competed in the 2025 British Superbike Championship, competing for the ROKiT MLav Racing BMW Motorrad team.

A step up in class will also come with it a step up in quality of opposition, but the flying Kilmacrennan man is relishing what is to come for the upcoming year.

“I’m moving up to the Superbikes in 2026, and I’m really excited. I’m basing myself in Spain at the moment, and I’ve started training and getting ready to go. My first test is in March, and from then it’ll be full steam ahead for the season.

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“This time of year, we’re in the South East of Spain, where there are a lot of tracks and reliable weather, so it’s where everyone is based.

“It is very similar, but it’s the premier class, and we’re going from riding 750cc bikes to 1000cc, so it’s a bit of a step up in class, and it might take time to figure out, but I’m looking forward to it.

“I’ve not ridden the bike yet, so it’s hard to know if it will be a struggle with certain things, so it’s all about getting the head down, figuring out the bikes, and learning as much as I can as quickly as possible.

“You’re dealing with a tenth of a second, so something so small can have a massive effect on your race, at times that could be the difference between first and fifth.

“You need to work it out and find those tenths which can separate the best from the rest, so it’s all about that one percent and the fine margins.”