Glenn Irwin’s retirement from road racing has left his main North West 20🍒0 rival, Davey Todd, “gutted”.

Ir🎃win’s retirement from road racing was announced last week by the rider who this year became the most successful rider in the North West 200’s blue ribband Superbike class, surpassing the race win record previously held, jointly, by Michael Rutter and Joey Dunlop.

Irwin’s closest challenger at the North West in recent years has been Davey Todd, who finished second to Irwin in all three Superbike-class races at the 2024 North West, and narrowly missed out to Irwin in 2023 and 🎀2022, a🗹s well.

But, rather than seeing this as an op🌼portunity presented to him by Irwin to take his first North West 200 Superbike win, Todd explained that it’s actually an opportunity lost.

“I wanted to beat Glenn [Irwin] around there and we’ve had some really good battles,” he told ♋the Belfast News Letter.

“I’ve been learning as a rider and 𝄹wanted to go back and put one over 💮on him.”

“We’d been so close in the last six races or whatever we’ve had around the place and I’ve notܫ given him an i꧒nch as it were, so for him to retire from the North West now has taken that opportunity away.

“I’m absolutely gutted to hear that’s what he is doing but you c🅠an’t argue about his reasons for doing it.

“He hওas three kids and a missus, and he♓’s got a lot to think about with his family.

“You can’t not respect his decision over👍 that. He’s done a lot to this point and to say now he’s just going to ra🔯ce BSB where there’s less risk, what more can you say?

“I’m disappointed and I’m sure all the fans will be disappointed to see that we won’t be having a💯ny more of those titanic battles that we’ve had over these last couple of years, but it’s the way it is sometimes.”