Honda adds protege Ryo Mizuno to 2021 BSB line-up with Irwin

Honda has confirmed it will head into the 2021 British Superbike Championship with a revised rider line-up with Ryo Mizuno set to make his debut for the manufacturer alongside the retained Glenn Irwin.

The Japanese manufacturer bounced right to form in 2020 with the launch of the new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade, with Andrew Irwin leading brother Glenn across the line for a stunning 1-2 result in both its debut and the following second race.

While Andrew Irwin’s season faltered thereafter, Glenn - despite only having one win to his brother’s three - led for the majority of the year before an untimely crash forced him to cede his advantage heading into the final event, during which he slid to fourth overall.

With Andrew moving on to Synetiq BMW for 2021, Honda interestingly delved into utus own portfolio for his replacement, tapping up the little-known Mizuno for the second Fireblade. The Japanese rider finished fourth overall in the competitive series, while his signing has evident parallels with that of Ryuichi Kiyonari who went from unknown racer to a superstar with three BSB titles between 2005 and 2010.

“I’m really looking forward to this new challenge, signing a deal with Honda Racing UK team to ride the new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP in the British championship.

“Thanks to all my family, friends and personal sponsors. I can't wait to get started and hope to have a lot of success in front of our fans later this year.”

Irwin added: I’m really happy to continue with Honda Racing and to carry on the development of the new Fireblade. 2020 was a really refreshing year that perhaps brought success earlier than I anticipated. For 2021 we have extensive development to go through which for sure will improve our package further. 

“That said, there won’t be any room for complacency which I have experienced before, so we won’t be making bold predictions from a results perspective. As a team we know from the work carried out over the winter, we have a strong base to continue developing the Fireblade. 

“Working with Ryo is exciting in itself, with Ryo coming from a completely different racing background. I am excited to see how his feedback improves us.”