TT 2022: BSB star Irwin leads newcomer laps

Tomorrow the 2022 pack of newcomers to the Isle of Man TT Races will experience the closed roads of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course for the first time, as they head out on their Speed Control Lap.

Leading the way is Glenn Irwin, possibly the highest profile debutante since Peter Hickman appeared at the TT for the first time in 2014.

The Northern Irishman’s road racing pedigree is considerable with six consecutive Superbike race wins at the North West 200 between 2017 and 2022. He’s also won at the Macau Grand Prix and taken podiums at the Ulster GP. On top of that, he’s also a British Superbike Championship race winner and frequent podium finisher, starting this year’s opening BSB round with a cleansweep of victories.

A reduction in the number of race starters for this year means newcomer places are at a premium like never before but there are still seven solo competitors joining the TT fray for the first time all with their own personal aspirations. Irwin’s fellow newcomers may not be under the spotlight as much and they all come from different racing backgrounds with Dutchman Ilja Caljouw and England’s Milo Ward joining him in the Superbike, Superstock and Senior races. Cajouw has excelled in the Supersport class on the European road circuits like Horice, Hengelo, Imatra, Chimay and Frohburg. He finished on the podium in all eight races in 2021, finishing second overall to former Newcomers Manx Grand Prix winner Pierre Yves Bian. Ward, meanwhile, has enjoyed strong results in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship, finishing fifth overall in 2018. He immediately moved into the Superstock 1000 class where he’s gone on to score points. Elsewhere, youngsters Joseph Loughlin and Jamie Cringle will focus on the