Rhys Irwin in action in this year's National Superstock 600 Championship.

Irwin and 21-year-old Bradley Perie from Cumbria will lead the charge in the Supersport class as they bid to win retain the title for a fifth consecutive season for the Keighley-based team and motorcycle dealership.

Rory Skinner dominated the series in 2020 but will make the step up to the British Superbike class next year, teaming up with Lee Jackson at FS-3 Kawasaki.

Young-gun Irwin makes the switch from the Superstock 600 category after impressing on his privateer Yamaha this year, finishing as the title runner-up and clinching three victories.

The 18-year-old will ride a 2021-spec YZF-R6 machine and will embark on a winter testing programme in the new year in preparation for the 11-round championship, which is set to commence at Oulton Park during the first weekend in May.

Irwin, whose older brother Caolan finished fourth in the Superstock 600 series this year, said: “It felt like a good year in Superstock but I really wanted to move up to Supersport and keep pushing myself, so this is the ideal chance to do that.

“It’s nice to be noticed after all the years of hard work and coming over on the ferry from the West of Ireland every weekend. Robin [Appleyard] runs such a brilliant team and I’ve always followed Jack Kennedy, so I’m well aware of their quality. It will also be amazing racing against him too as he’s such a talent.”

Two-time Supersport champion Jack Kennedy from Dublin will be among the favourites for the title after opting to return to the class next year following an up-and-down season in BSB.

Kennedy, who sealed the title for Appleyard’s team in successive years in 2018 and 2019, will ride a Kawasaki for the DB Racing team.

Northern Ireland’s Lee Johnston has also committed to a full British Supersport campaign in 2021 after the Isle of Man TT winner impressed this year, finishing fifth overall and bagging four podiums on the Ashcourt Racing Yamaha.

Johnston will focus primarily on the short circuit scene following the news that the TT has been cancelled for a second consecutive year, although the Fermanagh native is hoping the North West 200 will go ahead at some point next season.

The 31-year-old’s only outing on the roads in 2020 was at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough, where he won the prestigious Gold Cup for the second year in a row, narrowly holding off fellow top road racer Dean Harrison in the September showpiece.