Andrew Irwin has signed to ride for Honda Racing in the 2019 Bennetts British Superbike series.

Irwin joins the Honda team after a promising debut season in the Superbike class with Be Wiser Ducati, which saw a best result of fourth place in the final round at Brands Hatch.

“Honda has such a pedigree and most of the top riders in the world have ridden for them at some point in their careers. To be part of that racing history and heritage really excites me,” said Irwin.

“This year was my first year in Superbike and was a huge learning curve! Towards the end of the season I found my way and felt it was all coming together, so now with Harv and the team I will be aiming for the Showdown, which I believe is a realistic target.

“We will have a full season and also a test programme, which I didn’t have this year and I was still competitive, so we’ll be aiming for the front and I see no reason why we can’t be up there.”

Honda will announce a team-mate for Irwin in the coming weeks which leaves Dan Linfoot looking for work. It is believed Jason O’Halloran did a deal to join McAMS Yamaha some weeks ago.