I agreed with the idea that he’s out for himself so why not get to the front and try to win, I did however have a massive issue with the way he would pass on the straights and just aggressive move back across ordered noses (including his brother) and nearly resulted in Tommy going down at hawthorns, that was super close and could easily have been Tommy in a massive crash
Which is probably why Tommy gave him the brush off when they gathered round Kyle at the end. I actually thought they got on to a degree, but doubt it after that - seemed a dick move from GI. I went for the last race - wasn’t going to go, but saw the first one and thought ‘fuck it’ and went down - glad I did. I was rooting for Tommy, but with a gaggle of BluCrew (due to being with Harrison De55oy and his family), it was like being a Chelsea fan in the home crowd at West Ham
Irwin is like toprak, rea, marquez and many others: no space is given so as to force a competitor to either brake or crash. Ryde and Bridewell simply aren’t. Unless riled by Irwin (Bridewell)
Topraks like Glen Irwin? Doesn’t come anywhere close from where I’ve been sat. Clean as a whistle on the whole, whereas the other contenders you mention most certainly aren’t. I actually think Irwin’s own brother made him see red and act up on Sunday, wiped his nose twice going round the back of the circuit early on, which he clearly didn’t enjoy one bit, just my take;
For me it also displayed how Ducatis design ethos has gone the wrong way, throughout the 90’s/2000’s, no one would be able to ride around the outside of a Ducati. Famed for corner speed and stability, now they shake like a shi**ing dog until the straights and then just fly. I dont like it, once they inevitably get their revs capped they will be nowhere because they’ve developed the bike for straights
I was in a pub with a mate who wasn't up on his cockanee and I asked for a Nelson - by chance there was an ale (i.e. cold tea) on tap of the same name. He was super confused when I asked ‘what the fuck is this?’
It did look extremely squirrely, wonder if he was just over riding it, hard to tell without a team mate to compare and contrast (which he loved telling everyone about over the weekend i thought). Im still trying to work out that thing Ryde (and Rea these days) does with his outside foot hanging off the peg going round a few of the corners. Looks so out of control, which it clearly isnt. Whats that all about?
I like him as a racer, but his antics (which he admitted in terms of taking on the role of Kyle’s ‘wingman’) do make me wonder. He’s basically said he was prepared to fuck Tommy over to stop him winning the title, which sounds like sour grapes from 2023….. I DO really like Tommy, always have and that may make me biased, but I he’s always fair and his moves are almost always clean (except maybe Donny last year!!). I just don't think he’d have done what Glenn did. Glenn was even prepared to tussle with his brother to get to Tommy.
GI suffers with red mist and past grudges like 93 and Rea (and others in the past have). Its so blatant with their "riding styles" when the mist has fallen.
And so it rumbles on... Glenn Irwin has responded to fans on social media who have criticised him for the way he battled Tommy Bridewell in the final BSB race of the season at Brands Hatch. Irwin entered the Brands Hatch finale last weekend with an outside shot at the title, but a crash in Saturday’s Race 1 left him all but out of contention. On Sunday, both races boiled down to battles for the win between the two main title protagonists: Kyle Ryde and Irwin’s old rival Tommy Bridewell. Honda’s Bridewell won Race 2, while OMG Yamaha’s Ryde took victory in Race 3 to clinch the title. While Race 2 saw Ryde and Bridewell break away from the pack together with superior pace, in Race 3 a strong battle between Bridewell and Irwin allowed Ryde a one-second advantage that Bridewell broke the lap record to bridge. After the race, Irwin said that “a little bit of me became a wingman for Kyle [Ryde],” and the PBM Ducati rider has received criticism online for battling Bridewell as hard as he did given the context of the championship. Irwin responded to the criticism, saying that he has “nothing but respect for Tommy Bridewell” in a social media post. “Tommy Bridewell fans annoyed that I enjoyed a great battle on track, Tommy Bridewell fans annoyed that I felt I wanted to wingman Kyle (after seeing Honda deploying the tactic of Andrew [Irwin] trying to disrupt Kyle),” Irwin wrote. “What did the Tommy Bridewell fans say when on live TV he said he would ride through me and subsequently did do so? “Take a long hard look in the mirror. I respect Tommy like I respect Kyle. Top top class riders the both of them. “The saying goes, long runs the fox and yesterday that phrase played into reality. “Again, I have nothing but respect for Tommy Bridewell. To all his clueless fans thank you for the entertainment on social media.” Irwin then replied to a fan who claimed: “He wasn’t paid to ride shotgun for a rider in another team. Bitter man.” Irwin hit back: “I can assure you, I am very not bitter after [Sunday’s] result.” Another fan online said to Irwin: “Your tactics in the final race were desperate, it must have hurt watching your biggest rival ride the Honda like you couldn't.” Irwin responded: “In 2022 I rode a Honda (older spec) winning 5 races. That’s 2 more than your hero. “I think I can ride the Honda, according to friends that currently work at Honda the new bike is much better and its weaknesses have improved. So your comment is inaccurate and as expected from a keyboard warrior.”
GI is becoming an even bigger prick. All without the aid of Viagra. Tommy is a BSB champion. Thats one more than you Irwin. Maybe he'd be better at keyboard warrioring himself. Which is to be expected from a prick.
“….after seeing Honda deploying the tactic of Andrew [Irwin] trying to disrupt Kyle…….” Andy Irwin is Tommy’s effing team mate- that’s what they do! Glenn Irwin has f**k all to do with OMG. If he’d had the ‘respect’ he so proudly states, he’d have stayed out of it. I’m coming round to thinking he is a bit of a bellend.
Marquez wasn’t Lorenzo’s team mate when he blocked Rossi, gifting Lorenzo the MotoGP title. Personal rivalries fester, Irwin didn’t break any rules, just didn’t play the gentleman. No love lost in love and war and I can think of at least one multiple British and WSBK champion who openly admitted to using dirty tactics during his very successful career. Any
With respect, Andy, you’ve just given more examples of bad sportsmanship - and that doesn’t make GI’s actions any more palatable to me.
No offence taken, what I was trying to say is, this sort of behaviour is not uncommon and certainly not restricted to motorcycle racing (Schumacher vs Hill in Australia springs to mind). In this modern world, competitive sport is no longer something for gentlemen (desperately old fashioned phrase I know), I certainly don’t condone it and moving forward I don’t see an end to it without taking all the spice out of the sort of racing we saw on Sunday afternoon. In this instance, there is equal bad blood between the two protagonists and IMO, both bear equal responsibility. Now it is all over bar the shouting (and finger waving) I wonder if Stuart Higgs will do anything. Andy
I doubt Stuart will do anything, Andy. I believe you can still have spice in racing without it. Take Glenn out of the equation in Race 3 and you’d still have had one of the most closely fought races (and rounds, and championship) between Tommy and Kyle. Not sure how or where TB46 is equally responsible, except perhaps for his words. Also, Donny 23 was an accident so we can't really factor that in (although GI2 clearly does ). I hope it doesn’t proliferate or else we’ll end up with it being like football, god forbid. This ^ comes to mind. I was in a Turkish cafe in Greenwich when this happened - imagine their reaction!
