Be Wiser Ducati’s Shane Byrne labelled the opening MCE British Superbike race at Oulton Park in wet conditions as ‘a disaster’, as the setting that his team put on his bike did not suit the drying track conditions.

In race-two in changeable conditions Byrne decided to go for intermediate front and rear tyres in a track that started off very damp, but then began to dry very quickly. He was able to better his eighth place result in the first race to cross the finishing line in sixth in race-two.

For Byrne those results were ‘not ideal’ and he slips down to second from first in the overall championship standings. But it was a big weekend for the multiple-champ as he started his 300th BSB race over the weekend at the Cheshire circuit.

“Being my 300th race start it was a big weekend for me and also for the team with it being their local circuit as we always get a strong following and having missed the test last week, we knew it would be tricky for us,” said Byrne

“The changeable weather obviously didn’t help and the first race was a bit of a disaster to be honest. After the problems in qualifying, we tried a different wet setting but the track dried really quickly and the set up we had didn’t suit the conditions.

“In the second race, I opted for intermediate tyres and after the two sighting laps, I though we’d hit the nail on the head but I was astonished at how quickly the track dried up, more than I’ve ever known it do before. Sixth and eighth places aren’t ideal but Brands Hatch next time out is traditionally a good circuit for both me and the team and I’m ready to race there tomorrow.”