Howie delivers first points
Superbikes
Aylesford’s Howie Mainwaring Smart claimed his first British Superbikes points of the season at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday.
Mainwaring Smart did not finish the first race, completing only six laps but made amends with 11th place in race two.
He tweeted: “Really happy with the end result today the team have made massive progress with the bike for me this weekend.”
Meanwhile, Shane Byrne described his 300th race in British Superbikes as a disaster.
A crash in qualifying meant the Sittingbourne rider started 18th.
The four-time champion was 12th after the first lap and went on to finish eighth on his new Ducati bike. The race was won by Leon Haslam.
Byrne said: “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.
“Having missed the test last week, we knew it would be tricky for us. The changeable weather didn’t help and the first race was a bit of a disaster.
“After the problems in qualifying, we tried a different wet setting but the track dried quickly and the set-up we had didn’t suit the conditions.”
Byrne went for intermediate tyres on a drying track for race two. He was ninth early on but dug deep to finish sixth with Richard Cooper leading the field.
The results leave Byrne second on 58 points after two rounds, with Brands Hatch Indy next up on May 20-22.