The ninth round of the 2017 MCE British Superbike Championship heads for the historic circuit of Silverstone this week and Shane Byrne will be looking to add to his successes already this season.
However, this weekend’s action comprises not the usual two, but three races at the 3.66-mile GP track and will see the six riders confirmed into the title-deciding Showdown which starts the following weekend at Oulton Park.
Five-times and defending champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne is well placed to claim his slot as he continues to lead the title race despite a mechanical problem in the second race at Cadwell Park last time out when leading. The Sittingbourne-based rider has already won five races this season aboard the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale and is looking to book his place in the Showdown for a seventh successive year.
Importantly, Shakey holds a five-point advantage in the Podium Points tally ahead of Leon Haslam and will be looking to increase that at a track which has seen him achieve some brilliant results over recent years. Since 2012, Byrne has only failed to finish off the podium once at Silverstone, a fifth place in 2015, but apart from that, his record lists two wins and seven runner-up placings in those ten races meaning he’s the man they all need to beat.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Byrne said: “I’ve really enjoyed a pleasant mix of relaxing and training hard in Spain with my family since Cadwell Park and have had time to reflect on things. I have a great team around me and like them, I’ve been really annoyed and frustrated that we’ve as good as given away a potential 10 Podium Points in the last two rounds with a couple of DNFs.
“We know what we need to do and Silverstone should be a good track for us, this is our last chance to earn as many Podium Points this weekend so I’ll be going all out to do exactly that.”
Image courtesy of: http://psp-images.photoshelter.com/index