The strive for five was completed by Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne at his home circuit of Brands Hatch this weekend, as he underlined his dominance of the MCE British Superbike Championship. 

After yesterday’s heroics where the 39-year-old Londoner increased his advantage to 27 points after main rival Leon Haslam crashed out in the wet conditions, heavy morning rain had left the 2.4-mile GP circuit extremely damp but a dry line had appeared by the time the opening 20-lap race got underway although Shakey found himself running on the edge of the top ten on the factory backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R.

Keeping title rival Haslam in his sights, with just three laps to go, he overhauled team-mate Glenn Irwin for seventh and with Christian Iddon retiring on the penultimate lap, he moved up to sixth, one place behind Haslam. That was how they finished and the result clinched Shakey the 2016 MCE British Superbike Championship.

The third and final race of 2016 was only four laps old when it was red flagged due to an oil spillage, eventually getting underway again over the shorter distance of 10 laps. Shakey was back in eighth at the end of the first lap but by half race distance he was up to fifth and that became fourth with just three laps to go. The penultimate lap saw him up to third to eventually claim the final podium position to end his season and eventually win the championship by 29 points.

The result saw Byrne add to the titles he won in 2003, 2008, 2012 and 2014 and his result was enhanced by Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team taking their fifth BSB title too, adding the four of Shakey’s to the one won by Steve Hislop in 2002 to become the most successful team in the history of the championship.

Speaking after winning the title, Byrne said: “I must admit, it’s a strange feeling to have won the championship with a sixth place finish but to do so with a new manufacturer is a massive achievement for both myself and the team.

“The conditions in the first race today were very tricky and the bike was strong in the wet part of the track and not so strong in the other parts so it made it very difficult to overtake.

“Leon came by and I realised I needed to keep one place behind him to clinch the title and whilst he pulled away initially, he gradually came back to me and we got the job done.

“Winning my fifth title will probably sink in later and it’s certainly a weight off my shoulders and whilst I was desperate to end with a win, we signed off with a podium. The whole Be Wiser Ducati team have worked incredibly hard all season long so a massive thank you to them especially my crew chief Giovanni, and team of Kev and Sam.”

Images courtesy of www.psp-images.co.uk