Hawk Racing raids Supersport for the 2026 British Superbike

Hawk Racing renews for the 2026 British Superbike: with two Honda CBR 1000RR-Rs, Eugene McManus and Rhys Irwin, the newly crowned British Supersport Champion, will race.

Since 2023 a Honda “customer team” after having officially represented Kawasaki, BMW, and Suzuki in the British Superbike (and Road Races), Hawk Racing has announced a revamped rider line-up for the 2026 season. With the collaboration with John McPhee and Charlie Nesbitt now ended, Stuart and Steve Hicken’s outfit will change everything (or almost), chasing a victory that has been missing since 2021. Riding the two CBR 1000RR-Rs, entered under the MasterMac Honda banner, will be two of the best talents to emerge from the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship.

First and foremost is Rhys Irwin, who turns twenty-four next April 8, now one of the headline riders in BSB with a story worth telling. A fleeting presence in the British Talent Cup with a recent highlight in British Superstock 600, at the end of 2024 he found himself without a bike following the closure of Gearlink Kawasaki. Called up at the last minute by his former Team Manager Ben Wilson, the Donegal native pulled off a remarkable feat, clinching the 2025 British Supersport Championship with a family-run Suzuki GSX-R 750. “I couldn’t be more excited to make my BSB debut with Hawk Racing, which has a long tradition of supporting young riders stepping into Superbike,” said Rhys Irwin. “Winning BSS and then getting the opportunity to race in BSB is the fulfillment of a double dream. I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together with the team.”

Rhys Irwin will be joined by another Irish rider, Eugene McManus, his regular rival in British Supersport. A long-time presence in the BSB paddock, the 26-year-old from Belfast finished sixth in the championship in the season just ended, scoring three podiums with an MMB Racing Ducati Panigale V2. “I’m eager to get started on what represents an important career step for me,” Eugene McManus warmly admitted. “Given the strong performances I’ve shown over the years, I have great confidence in my abilities as well as those of Hawk Racing. We’ll take it one step at a time; I’ll try to adapt quickly to the demands of BSB to deliver good results right away in my first season on Superbikes.”

Alongside its British Superbike campaign Hawk Racing has confirmed its participation next year in the Pirelli National Superstock Championship (the British Superstock 1000), again with a Honda Fireblade entrusted to Dan Brookes, who is set for his second consecutive season in the colors of the Mallory Park-based squad.