Your type rating will be issued as B737/IR or C525/IR, for example, on your Certificate of Revalidation. Your IR-SPA-ME will need a separate test in accordance with the cross-crediting document to be revalidated and is a separate entry on your Certificate of Revalidation.
You are only credited Section 3B for your IR-SPA-ME if you hold a current Type Rating, so would have to complete the rest of the IR test in a non-typed aircraft/simulator (i.e. in the MEP class) to REVALIDATE it.
If your IR-SPA-ME expires, you must complete the entire IR-SPA-ME in an aircraft. No cross-crediting is then available. So starting a Type Rating course is not enough, you must fulfil other criteria and have a current Type Rating to obtain cross-credit towards the IR-SPA-ME.