Glenn Irwin has revealed he seriously considered pulling out of this week's North West 200 after a frustrating start to his British Superbike Championship campaign with a new V4 Ducati.

The 36-year-old from Carrickfergus endured a rocky opening round at Oulton Park last weekend, finishing 12th in the first race before failing to complete race two. However, a determined fifth-place finish in race three gave him renewed hope after finally getting to grips with his machine's teething issues.

Irwin, who took a year off from the North West 200 in 2024, is now returning to Northern Ireland's north coast with his sights set on extending his remarkable record of 11 Superbike wins at the event—a streak that ran consecutively from 2017 to 2024.

In a candid conversation with BBC Sport NI's Stephen Watson, Irwin admitted: "Yes, that would be correct" when asked if he thought about withdrawing. "I had a really good conversation with the team and with Mervyn [Whyte, NW200 Event Director] on Sunday evening explaining what was going on."

"Teething is probably the correct word. Some things arrived on the bike that didn't work from the beginning. We were still eradicating those up to race three at Oulton Park. Some of those, like missing gears and things like that—it's hard enough going round a short circuit running out of road, never mind here."

But with those issues now resolved, the Nitrous Competitions Ducati rider is feeling confident heading into the week ahead. "It's all rectified, there's no point touching too much on it other than it wasn't looking so good. We ended up almost as strong as anyone at Oulton in race three. We're certainly there or thereabouts, and my level is high to be able to be back challenging at the front in British Superbikes—and coming into this week, which for me is very important."

For fans of road racing, Irwin's return adds an extra layer of drama to an already electric North West 200. Whether you're trackside or following from home, make sure you're geared up for the action with race-ready apparel that matches the intensity of the competition.