Glenn Irwin slams Tommy Bridewell’s “clueless fans” after “bitter” claim

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.”