‘I could still win BSB’
LEGEND Shakey Byrne’s comeback dream
‘Lockdown will end when my surgeon gives me the all-clear’
‘After a few laps I was as fast as Foggy had been in the race’
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne is the British Superbike Championship’s most successful rider: a sixtime champion with 85 victories. So, how did Shakey fall in love with motorbikes?
“I have no idea,” he laughs! “It sounds corny, but I can’t remember ever not wanting to be a racer. It’s always been there.” Shakey’s first two-wheeled experience came on a Puch Magnum during a family holiday to Butlins in Bognor Regis. His cousin persuaded staff running the bikes to let him have a go, so, with a guide either side of him, Shakey was away.
“I was smitten! Riding those bikes, oh my god, it’d be like me getting a Repsol Honda ride now!” Shakey dabbled in trials and motocross, whilst putting in the graft during the night down on the London Underground, changing rails and sleepers. Earning £400£500 per week, Shakey was able to buy his first bike, a Suzuki RGV250. He’d later part-exchange it for a prepped Kawasaki ZXR400. After two practice days, Shakey won his first race at Brands Hatch. Continued club racing success led to a road-testing role with Fast Bikes magazine, and a particularly special outing on Carl Fogarty’s WSB Ducati at a wet Misano.
“Within a few laps I was pretty much as fast as he’d been in the wet race that weekend. I don’t know how or why, but I went ridiculously fast. After my first session he was like, ‘f***ing hell, what’re you doing?’ We’ve got on like a house on fire ever since!”
Shakey debuted in BSB in 1999 with Harris Performance, but his big break came in 2003 when Paul Bird signed him as a replacement for reigning champion Steve Hislop. The decision proved to be the right one and Shakey won 12 races, including eight back-to-back, to secure his first title.
The Bird-Byrne partnership, which would reach historic heights, also stunned the World Superbike paddock that year with a wildcard double victory at Brands.
“You can imagine that the Sunday night was special! I don’t remember going to bed, but when I woke up, I remember being super excited. I’d gone to bed with crowds outside the motorhome, it was a proper night. I swung the door open expecting loads of people, but instead I found bottles and rubbish. I was like, wait a minute, I’m ready to start my dream again! Twelve hours ago, this was the most special day of my life and now it’s all disappeared.” MotoGP with Aprilia beckoned in 2004 but the Piaggio takeover ended
that project and the following year’s deal with Proton KTM didn’t go to plan, but KTM were reluctant to criticise their V4.
Team boss Kenny Roberts defended Shakey after witnessing the Brit doing exactly what Rossi did out on track. Shakey recalls: “He went: ‘Do you know what I just watched? I just watched Valentino’s bike go forwards, this piece of sh*t does nothing! It’s not the rider!’” A BSB comeback ended with a second crown in 2008 before Shakey joined Sterilgarda Ducati in WSB. Financial problems led to the team’s withdrawal post-season, but Shakey did claim his only podium as a WSB rider at Misano. A tough campaign with Althea Racing alongside favoured rider Carlos Checa followed, and Shakey returned home once again. Undeterred, he made history with four more titles with PBM, two with Kawasaki and two with Ducati before a crash in 2018 left him with neck and back injuries and he hasn’t raced since. He’s now a Eurosport pundit and rider manager.
But Shakey hasn’t ruled out a return, saying: “At some places they’re going slower now than they were when I raced. So, why wouldn’t I feel like I can go back and win? My lockdown will end when my surgeon gives me the all-clear one day and we can crack on.”