Shane Byrne took two third places and a second in the first triple header round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park.

Shakey who was bruised and battered and having issues with his right arm and thumb put on a good consistent show, to underline why he is the championship leader but he will certainly want to get back on the top step of the podium as soon as possible.

In race one having started on pole position by the closest of margins from Josh Brookes, he lead off the line and into the start of the race.

However, he couldn’t hold off the advancing Brookes and Kiyo after he worked his way through the field. The front two were flying and eventually left Byrne behind, but that made him more determined for the rest of the weekend.

Speaking after race one, Shakey said: “I will be honest, I have had a difficult weekend and podiums don’t come easy but that one was especially tough. Both Josh and Kiyo were riding really, really well and my bike with perhaps a tiny bit more side grip was good enough to win today.

“The steps we have made have been really good on a personal level and the team have done a brilliant job too. Fingers crossed we can take another small step tomorrow and then see what we can do about it in the race.

“We want to be winning races and all three of us need to be beating each other and I haven’t beaten either of them for a while so I need to get my finger out and try and win some races!”

On Sunday with the weather coming in early in the morning, it was touch and go whether there would be any racing on track.

However the sun came out and the racing got going, in race two of the weekend Shakey followed Brookes and Kiyo around having started in third place.

He closed back in on the front two towards the end but a mistake meant that he couldn’t close up to make a move for second, so he took his second third place of the weekend.

Giving his thoughts after the second race, he added: “I think the race started with Josh being the bravest man in the paddock! As he led into Druids for the first time on the opening lap, I wasn’t envious at all!

“Both Kiyo and Josh went in there a lot faster than I thought we would be from the warm up lap. I kind of thought “you crack on boys and do what you’ve got to do!” I wanted to get my head around it and go from there. I had a steady lap and a half and then got back onto the guys and pretty much sat there for the rest of the race.”

“For me it was a major accomplishment to be strong enough to be with them right at the end. Admittedly I made a mistake at Druids on the penultimate lap, which really cost me a lot of time and gave the guys a second or so. I pushed as hard as I could on the final lap, set the fastest lap of the race! We tried hard and we will see what we can do now for the last one.”

The final race of the weekend saw Shakey got his customary good start off the line, but Brookes lead into the first corner. Brookes then took off and finished seven seconds clear of Byrne who took second, having been reeled in by Dan Linfoot before passing him and getting enough distance to hold on for the second step of the podium.

Reflecting on a tough weekend, Shakey said: “My fitness isn’t what it should have been this weekend due to a bit of an accident away from racing on Thursday so with a second and two thirds from the three races, it hasn’t been a bad weekend by my standards.

“Aside from having a bit less side grip, the bike was great all weekend and more than capable of winning and it was simply a case of the rider not quite being strong enough. I felt better today and although changeable conditions make it tough as you don’t want to be on damp patches with slick tyres, the slower pace helped me last longer.

“I’m lost for words with how Josh rode in the last race as he was going through the damp patches like they weren’t there so fair play to him. Three more podiums mean a good chunk of Podium Credits and hopefully I’ll be back a lot stronger at the next round.”

The championship now moves on to Cadwell Park over the August Bank Holiday weekend, where a bruised and battered Byrne will hope to be back on the top step of the podium.

Pictures supplied  by http://www.pspimages.co.uk/