BYRNE IN TITLE MIX
BIKES Shane’s double closes the gap
SHANE BYRNE revved up his bid for a sixth British Superbikes crown with a double in yesterday’s fifth round at Snetterton.
The Be Wiser Ducati rider moved into second place in the title race, seven points behind series leader Luke Mossey who had a frustrating day.
Mossey crashed in the morning warm-up, was forced out of the opening race with mechanical problems and then finished 10th in race two.
‘Shakey’ took pole for the opener by smashing the outright circuit record but was sluggish away from the line with James Ellison hitting the front.
The McAMS Yamaha rider had the edge for four laps before Byrne got past and then dictated terms from the front, holding off the threat of 2015 champion Josh Brookes.
Rough
“I’d done two practice starts this weekend and they were the best I’ve done with the Ducati but then at the start of the race I fluffed it,” said Byrne.
“I thought there would be some guys who would try to rough me up a bit so I was kind of happy to stay safe for the first few laps and not worry about being third or fourth.
“I knew how hard we had worked to be fast at the end of the race so I was not overly concerned but then James Ellison made a mistake and I went through.
“Then I pushed on for a bit and overall we did a great job,” added Byrne, who took the win by 3.295secs from Brookes.
Supercharged Brookes then made a terrific get-away to lead the second race, with Ellison again second and Byrne close behind.
But Byrne grabbed second place at half distance and then reeled in Brookes, beating his own record with a stunning lap of 1min 47.143secs to take the lead with just under three laps to go.
Brookes was a close second, 0.686secs down, with Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran third.