There are now only 21 points that separate Be Wiser Ducati’s Shane Byrne from rival and current series leader, Leon Haslam, going into the final two MCE British Superbike races at Brands Hatch.
Byrne was victorious in the opening event and took maximum points this afternoon. It was a strong day for the local rider as he also bagged pole position in the earlier qualifying session. He lapped a 1’24.163 and set a new outright lap record in the process.
In race one Byrne was locked in a battle with Tyco BMW’s Christian Iddon and a new engine for the PBM Panigale meant that the multiple champ was able to pull the pin and when the chequered flag appeared he had a 1.75 second advantage over Iddon, and third place finisher, Josh Brookes.
Byrne was able to out-pace the JG Speedfit Kawasaki bike of Haslam who finished in fourth and now the Ducati man is aiming for a hat-trick of wins at the Kent circuit, and he will be pushing as ‘hard as he can’ to clinch a record breaking sixth BSB title.
“It was not the best of starts in the first race and I didn’t know what to do and I know Josh and Christian had the pace to run really close to me and I didn’t want to go off the line and create this big gap and Josh comes strong at the end of the race I didn’t know what the plan was going to be,” said Byrne at the track.
“When I started the second start I settled in and I tried to hit my markers and keep everything consistent. Towards the end of the race I finished the race strong and luckily for me that was enough. There is 21 points I still need to overhaul and to do that I need to repeat what I did today. It will be difficult but I will be pushing as hard as I can.”
