Andrew Irwin to make step over to the world stage for 2018
Northern Irish rider signs with CIA Landlord Insurance Honda
With even more pieces of the 2018 FIM Supersport World Championship jigsaw falling into place, the grid will gain a Northern Irishman next season, as Andrew Irwin will race for CIA Landlord Insurance Honda next season.
Finishing the 2017 season in third position in the world championship standings with Jules Cluzel, the privateer Honda team have been fighting for podium positions and victories throughout the season. With the addition of British Supersport Runner up to the squad, they are no doubt in for a strong season in 2018.
Despite having limited experience on the world stage, Irwin is keen to take on the challenge as he will learn new circuits as well as understand the CBR600RR he will be battling with. No stranger to success, he has Ulster and Irish Championships to his name and won’t be afraid to put up a hard battle in the WorldSSP championship.
“I’m really excited to join the CIA Landlord Insurance Honda team for 2018,” beams Irwin. “For me it is the perfect step up from a competitive British Supersport campaign in 2017 to the bigger challenge of World Supersport. I believe with the experience of the team I can do a good job and can’t wait to start testing. I’d like to thank Simon and his team along with my personal sponsors for this fantastic opportunity.”
CIA Landlord Insurance Honda Team Manager, Simon Buckmaster added: “I'm happy to announce our first signing for 2018. Andrew was runner up in British Supersport and has shown tremendous promise. Making the step up from the British to the World Championship is the way it should be and we are proud to be able to offer that opportunity.We are a British team and we are all partisan. We didn't have a British rider this year which is unusual for us so we are excited to have a British rider back in the team, it's good for the British fans and for us. We will test with Andrew in Europe and then in Australia to start the season, well prepared as we always do and I am sure he will take it step by step and get better with each race so let's see what we can do together in 2018 and beyond.”
