Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne endured a challenging weekend at Oulton Park in the latest round of the MCE British Superbike Championship.

He ended up with two points scoring finishes in what were extremely challenging conditions with changeable weather conditions.

Aboard the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R, 39-year-old Byrne was making his 300th start in the MCE BSB series, although 18th on the grid wasn’t how he planned on celebrating following a crash in qualifying the day previously.

Nevertheless, a strong start in the opening 18-lap race saw him immediately make his way up to 12th and he was able to make steady progress throughout. The wet weather made it difficult for everyone but the four-times champion came home in eighth place to score more valuable points.

That result gave him a higher starting position on the grid for race two but conditions were once again tricky as the race started with a damp, but drying track making tyre choice crucial. The Sittingbourne-based Londoner opted for intermediate tyres all round although he later admitted, he’d never known the Cheshire track dry so quickly. Ninth place in the early stages wasn’t what he’d hoped for but he dug deep and fought to the end, eventually crossing the line in sixth place to hold second place in the early season title race after his double podium at Silverstone in round one.

Speaking after the weekends racing, 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 and having missed the test last week, we knew it would be tricky for us. The changeable weather obviously didn’t help and the first race was a bit of a disaster to be honest.

“After the problems in qualifying, we tried a different wet setting but the track dried really quickly and the set-up we had didn’t suit the conditions. In the second race, I opted for intermediate tyres and after the two sighting laps, I thought we’d hit the nail on the head but I was astonished at how quickly the track dried up, more than I’ve ever known it do before.

“ Sixth and eighth places aren’t ideal but Brands Hatch next time out is traditionally a good circuit for both me and the team and I’m ready to race there tomorrow!”

Next up for Byrne is his home track of Brands Hatch where he will be hoping that he can take his PBM Ducati to the top step of the podium.

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