Warning: This interview contains some strong language.
Glenn Irwin is the British Superbike runner-up and the fastest-ever newcomer at the Isle of Man TT 2022. It is safe to say that when he is on the bike, there is nothing he cannot do. As a spectator, we see Glenn as a fierce and strong rider on the track, but I wanted to know more about Glenn, off-track.
Glenn and I sat down and chatted through what it took for him to be where he is today. Glenn has been riding since he was just three years old on a PW50 and that was only the beginning. At around 5 years old Irwin began to race in motorcross with his younger brother Graeme following in his footsteps. At a young age, Glenn knew the importance of motivation but also acceptance, “When I raced motorcross my younger brother Graeme was always coming through and went on to be British Champion. It was a common acceptance that Graeme was better however when I switched to short circuit racing at 18, straight away I got a feeling that I was strong in it and my motivation for my job has always been high…. Thankfully I don't have to work to be motivated. I'm really driven and hungry when I set my mind to something, that gets my full focus. I'm a professional motorbike racer, employed to fight for wins and championships. There's nobody at the front of this game suffering from a loss of motivation.”
In 2019 Glenn experienced “a spanner in the works” in his career. It was in 2019 when multiple team moves occurred but also when Glenn's mental health was at its worst. However, Irwin never gave up hope and continued to stay motivated. “2019 was strange because it was like this shit year. I never had a bad year in superbikes in the first three years, but something wasn't right from the off. It wasn't the bike because I had ridden a super-stock Kawasaki and loved it, so it wasn't a brand thing and I think that's important to get across.”
Halfway through 2019, Irwin moved over to Tyco BMW and it came at a time when his stress had increased to a new high with it causing him to lose his vision, “I couldn’t see out of my left eye it was so bad and nobody knew what shape I was in and I absolutely should not have been riding, but we were like top 5, top 6 straight away with no testing, never ridden a BMW before and one eye”. Even though Irwin didn’t stay with Tyco to the end of the season, the team and the opportunity definitely had an impact on his career. “Tyco saved my career, Phillip Neil, I hope he realises how much I appreciate that...He gave me a contract proposal at the end of the year, but so did Honda, and in the big bad world you have to make big bold decisions and you can’t always make them based on emotion”
Irwin has always been driven and determined to succeed and this is especially clear when speaking about the thought processes following a crash.
In Spain this year, Glenn had a massive crash after his front brake failed at 140mph during private testing. “I broke my wrist, 5 vertebrae, hip socket and pubic bone in March testing. I woke up in the medical centre and I told my dad I didn’t want to do it anymore but that's only in the initial pain, once pain relief hits all you think of is recovery”.
If a rider’s sense of self is largely comprised by being a rider when they become injured their predominant source of self-confidence has been “taken away from them”. The drive to return to full fitness largely stems from the addiction to adrenaline and the addiction to the racing itself, to the point where Irwin finds it hard to switch off. “Do I find it hard to switch off? Probably do, but I don’t want to, I love it, my whole life revolves around racing. It's my life. I don't know why I’d want to turn it off”.
Glenn has always been open about his mental health which has helped many. Despite it being a very difficult subject for many, he has learnt how to take the positives from such a low time in his life. “Racing probably gave me enough highs to get rid of some of the lows temporarily. I know for a fact it changed my career (difficulties with mental health), as in I'm sure I would've been in the world superbike paddock, but everything happens for a reason. I don't resent the fact I'm not. I love my career, it's getting better, and I feel like I'm only getting younger. Every year is a better year and I am very self-aware. I'm getting better at self-improvement”.
Despite it being a very male-dominated industry, Glenn found that it did not stop him from opening up and sharing his story, “As soon as I did, the messages of support were really good and I tried to help other people. I think I never let that affect me (the male-dominated environment) and if people do, then they shouldn't. I just don't give a fuck about what anyone else thinks”.
2022 BSB was a very bizarre season, to say the least, with extreme highs but also extreme lows. Glenn remained with Honda for the ‘22 season which saw a further development in his relationship with his team boss, Havier Beltran. Irwin could not sing his praises enough. I asked him about working with Beltran, “He is a really good listener and wants to get the best out of you. He has the confidence to step in where other managers might not...Coming in with him came at a time when I wanted to sort myself out and he played a big part in that. Since the start, I have been honest with Harv, from the very first conversation. I told him everything and it's been a very open relationship”. Being in such an open and friendly team environment definitely benefited Glenn. As he said, there was no “unnecessary pressure”, and Harv would always check in with him to see if he was “feeling it” before a race rather than pushing Glenn.
I asked Glenn “ does seeing what happens in some races, some of the incidents and accidents, put you off?” . Like many professional racers, he said it doesn’t, however that doesn't stop it from being tough mentally. Unfortunately, in road racing especially the TT there is a higher risk of fatal accidents than in BSB due to the nature of the course.
The TT was tough this year due to all his family coming over to the Isle of Man “waking up with the kids in the house in we had Douglas, and they are jumping over you in the morning, and you are looking at them thinking “Fuck, why am I doing this?” I’m sure all the riders if they are fathers, are going to think that. Road racing is weird when your mates walk away from it, you are happy for them”. “For BSB, I can’t speak for others, but I have zero fear maybe because I do road racing and that's maximum fear and anxiety...But when things like what happened to Chrissy, that touches a nerve. You’re heartbroken, you replay your last conversation, but to answer your question, you never question BSB, but you do question road racing.”.
Snetterton 2022, a round that will not be forgotten. This was due to the controversial Safety Car incident in which, Taz, Brad Ray and Glenn passed the safety car before it had exited the track fully and were penalised. However, it's not all as clean-cut as it seems. Glenn was only following the leading two riders because if he were to roll off of the throttle, he could have caused a huge crash and put others in danger. Many agree and do not think the penalties given were right for the situation, here’s what Glenn had to say about it...”The thing is the rules are the rules but they aren't as flexible as they probably could be and some people do not understand the circumstances, I couldn't roll off and run the risk of causing a crash when I have a family and a baby on the way. Some of the people on the board just do not care. It's easy to attack Stuart Higgs (Race Director) because he is the face of it but it's the others that are harsher on it.”
Glenn Irwin, fastest-ever newcomer at the Isle of Man TT...has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Irwin's determination to learn and immerse himself fully into the TT certainly paid off by securing an outstanding 8th in his first ever TT Superbike race. This is another incredible display of Irwin's motivation to succeed. Despite it being his debut year, Glenn still had ideas of how he wanted his first TT to go, “I had ideas of what I could believe I could achieve if the 2 weeks went smoothly and the weather was good, I broke the newcomer record. I was 0.7 off 130mph, in my sixth ever race lap, the conditions of the Senior race were terrible that week with the incidents and nobody went faster, but I still did improve some sectors. I felt I was on target to achieve everything I wanted to, but the racer in me wished the conditions were perfect and I think “why didn't I open the throttle a bit more on lap 6 to get 130?”. It lived up to all expectations, where people said was bumpy, it was bumpy. I thought bray hill would be narrow, but it was wide. Sulby had deteriorated which nobody really knew and that shocked me, but the whole event was great.”.
After a turbulent few years, Glenn has proved himself to be a resilient and determined rider with a strong mindset. I asked him if he could give his 2019 self any advice, knowing what he does now, what would he tell him? “Don't give up, because I didn't give up and I grabbed the next opportunity with both hands. Keep hungry, keep motivated and don't be afraid to get help but I don't think I’d change anything because it worked out for me in the end".
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