Glenn Irwin aiming to extend unbeaten run in British Superbike Championship at Donington Park

The Carrickfergus man leads the series after claiming his second career BSB treble at Oulton Park before adding another hat-trick at the North West 200, where Irwin became the most successful Superbike rider ever at the north coast road race last weekend.

The 34-year-old is hoping to make amends on his return to Donington after encountering some challenges last season, with Irwin claiming a solitary podium from six races across two rounds at the GP track.

On Friday, he was fourth fastest in free practice, 0.124s down on OMG Yamaha’s Ryan Vickers.

“Going to Donington Park it is a track where we didn’t really have a lot of success last year, due to random things,” said Irwin, who leads the championship by six points from Vickers.

“We had some issues with the bike and the first round was early in the year and my adaption to the Ducati was far from complete.

“The final round, we had bad weather, the technical problem and a DNF in race two, so I don’t think we have shown what we can achieve at Donington Park – I had one podium in the first round last year.

“That being said we had a great test and great form in the second round there last year but we just couldn’t show that in the race for various reasons.

“I have the mind-set now where I never go to a track looking forward to it more than any other track on the calendar, so it is one that I believe we can continue our winning form.”

Irwin’s treble at Oulton was the second clean sweep of his BSB career and he admits it would be a ‘dream’ to achieve back-to-back hat-tricks this weekend.

“It would become a dream if we could achieve back-to-back trebles,” he said.

“Of course, first we have to get through free practice and work hard as a team. We also have Superpole and I feel like we learnt a lot when we did it at Navarra, we managed to bring a good lap that put us in the top four, which is a marked improvement from our last Superpole at Cadwell Park.

“We obviously want to continue this good form, the vibe in the team is great and it is probably the best environment and energy I have felt, so let’s continue that and rock on,” Irwin added.

“The feeling was great at Oulton Park despite still developing some new items, I don’t believe we are just in the sweet spot just yet, but that being said we were still able to be incredibly strong and ride to the bike strength.

“The three races at Oulton Park were all highly pressurised as such but I always felt in control and that is something that pleases me a lot and something that will be a valuable asset in the championship.”

The opening 20-lap race on Saturday is scheduled for 16:15 BST with Sunday’s Sprint race at 13:15 BST and Race 3 at 16:15 BST.