Be Wiser Ducati’s Shane Byrne and his crew are still working on small improvements to his Panigale. The reigning champion set the fastest time in both free practice sessions and was only two tenths slower than the outright MCE British Superbike lap record at Brands Hatch.
The GP circuit is a local track for Byrne and he comes into the Kent round after winning both races at Snetterton. His crew chief, Giovanni Crupi told bikesportnews.com that they have not made any changes to the Ducati since Knockhill and that Byrne has really gelled with the Panigale.
What they have been working on this weekend is engine braking and they are ‘chipping away’ on that. The team are also hoping for some good weather as Byrne works well on the softer option Pirelli tyres.
“Mainly we just suited the bike to Shakey’s style,” said Byrne’s crew chief, Giovanni Crupi, speaking to bikesportnews.com from the circuit this afternoon.
“It is quite easy with him because he knows what he wants and I try to give him what he wants. We will just chip away with engine braking [during the sessions this weekend.]
“It was the same bike as Knockhill, [that was at Snetterton]. We always use the softer Pirelli tyres and hope the weather is good so we can use them.”
Byrne added: It has been a good start to the weekend and I am pretty happy. I wouldn’t say that we are as happy as I was at Thruxton last year, but we are probably as happy as I was at Snetterton - and that certainly wasn’t a bad weekend for us.
“There are still areas we can improve and there are a couple of small things we did at the end of the afternoon session. We know there is still plenty of time still to come and it is going to be a fast weekend if it stays dry that’s for sure. I am happy with what the boys in the team have done today and the steps we have made so far, so we need to carry that on tomorrow for qualifying.”
