Shane Byrne made history as he became the most successful British Superbike rider ever with his double at Thruxton on Sunday afternoon.
He came from third on the grid in the first race to take the lead and secure victory before starting race two on pole and leading the field home.
It was an action packed weekend for those on track behind Shakey, in race one Byrne took the lead from the off but was overtaken on the last lap by Josh Brookes.
Byrne traded the lead with Alex Lowes and the safety car made regular appearances as riders swapped positions all the way down the field.
However, the rider from the Isle of Sheppey wasn’t going to give up and made his move going into the last few turns to ensure victory 43 of his career.
There was no doubt that James Ellison was the man of the race as he stormed through the field from the fifth row of the grid to sixth place and at the end he was catching the two riders in front of him.
Speaking about his victory in the opening race, Shakey said: “We had a little bit of a problem with the bike if I am honest with the front brakes. They seemed fine for the first few laps, but then I had vibrations on the brakes and I made mistakes where I was running in a bit fast.
“I got the bike parked in the last chicane on that last lap in front of Josh and then we managed to hold it, I thought he couldn’t get round the front and fortunately we got to the line first in that one; the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki team did a good job.”
The 2012 Champion then started race two on pole position by virtue of the fact that he set the fastest lap of the race in race one. He was joined on the front row as well by his team mate for the first time this season. Alex Lowes and James Ellison rounded out the front row, while veteran Chris Walker headed row two.
Race two was certainly eventful with the rain and also several accidents which meant that the safety car was seen on more than one occasion. They hadn’t even completed lap one when it was first deployed as three time champion Ryuichi Kiyonari had an off.
On lap nine the safety car was out once more as Lee Costello had an off ensuring that Byrne, Lowes and Ellison were right up with each other to fight it out for the race win. They didn’t really get the opportunity to duel it out to the end when the race was red flagged.
With Karl Harris and Tommy Bridwell having an off at Club, it meant that Shakey took race win 44 of his career, and became the most successful rider in British Superbike history.
Byrne said after race two: “To come away with the double is superb and becoming the most successful rider in BSB just adds to that. I really wanted to put on a show in the second race but we just couldn’t get going as the safety car kept coming out every time I’d opened up a gap meaning it disappeared.”
“We had a few problems in the first race with the front brake disc and suspension so I was relieved to get the win but everything was spot on in the second race. All in all it’s a great start to the season.”
Race One result of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, at Thruxton:
- Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki)
- Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +0.301s
- Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) +0.663s
- James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +6.415s
- Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) +6.533s
- James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) +6.778s
- Karl Harris (PR Kawasaki) +8.464s
- Michael Rutter (Bathams Honda) +8.892s
- PJ Jacobsen (Tyco Suzuki) +9.553s
- Jakub Smrz (Padgetts Honda) +9.817s
Race Two result of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, at Thruxton:
- Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki)
- Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) +0.245s
- James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.656s
- Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +0.757s
- Michael Rutter (Bathams Honda) +1.819s
- Keith Farmer (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +1.908s
- Chris Walker (Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki) +2.173s
- Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) +2.489s
- James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +3.274s
- Peter Hickman (Lloyds British GBmoto Honda) +3.810s
Championship standings of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, after races three and four at Thruxton
The British Superbikes will be back over the May Bank Holiday as they head to Oulton Park for Round Three of the 2013 season.