Byrne still buoyant despite end of run
Shane Byrne’s four-race winning run came to an end at the weekend but the Sittingbourne rider still leads the British Superbike Championship standings.
Byrne finished race one at Thruxton in fourth place before retiring from the action in the second, with wins for Josh Brookes (Yamaha) and Peter Hickman (BMW). Byrne leads Kawasaki’s Leon Haslam by 19 points.
The five-time defending champion made a good start from row two aboard his Be Wiser Ducati and was soon involved in the battle at the front.
Following a safety car intervention, Byrne continued to dispute the lead with Brookes, Hickman and Kawasaki’s Jake Dixon but try as he might, he wasn’t able to get close enough to make a pass and had to settle for fourth.
Byrne started the second race from the front row and ran comfortably inside the top three for the first half, including leading for three laps.
However, as the race entered the second half, it was clear he was in trouble as problems with the rear tyre saw him drop down the order and he pulled in to retire on lap 15.
He said: “I’ve been building up to this weekend ever since Knockhill and it’s probably been the meeting I’ve been looking forward to the most, especially after what we achieved here in 2016.
“The last two meetings have gone well and we expected more of the same here so I was disappointed with fourth in race one.
“We made a big change with the bike for the second race and it was the best it had been all weekend.
“I felt so, so comfortable and was ready to check out but then the rear tyre went downhill rapidly and I couldn’t do anything about it. I had no option but to retire but I’m still leading the championship and have only lost the odd point to my rivals in terms of podium points.”
The next round is at Cadwell Park on August 18-20.