Kent’s Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne is back on track this weekend as the 2015 MCE British Superbike Championship rides into Oulton Park.
The defending champion is leading the early standings just about from James Ellison who roared into contention at Brands Hatch, with a brace of wins.
This weekend Shakey is determined to return to the top step of the podium and ensure he is the number one rider on the grid.
Byrne claimed a victory at the opening round of the season at Donington Park and has scored a further hat trick of second places to hold a six point advantage ahead of the next round of the season in Cheshire.
Byrne and his PBM Kawasaki team had a positive test last Friday at Oulton Park with the Kent-based champion holding second place on the timesheets and posting a time under the existing lap record.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Byrne said: “We had a really positive test last week at Oulton Park and for me that was an ideal way to prepare for this weekend. I obviously lost track time pre-season in Spain when I ejected myself into the scenery, so last Friday felt like a bit of Almeria, Cartagena and Guadix all rolled into one.
“The test was really beneficial to us and we got a lot close to where we need to be, and although it was only a practice day, I was pretty happy with our pace so I left there feeling really positive. The team have done a good job and we have worked on a few areas to give us a direction ahead of the weekend, so fingers crossed we can continue the work we have started and have a good, strong round.
“Oulton Park is a great track, it’s one of those places where different bikes have different strengths and weaknesses in different areas so I expect it to be really close there. It would be really nice to come away from Oulton Park with another win or preferably even two as the last one we had at Donington seems like a long time ago now!
“I’m working hard and the team are working hard too as Brands Hatch was a real kick in the backside for us and now we need to learn from that, regroup, and take steps forward and hopefully get back to the front again. That definitely is the plan for this weekend although I know it won’t come easily!”
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