The reigning MCE British Superbike Champion, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, is raring to go this weekend at his home round of the season at Brands Hatch.
The PBM Kawasaki rider heads into Brands Hatch in the lead of the Championship following a win and a second place finish in the opening round of the 2015 season at Donington Park.
Byrne had an entertaining battle with Din Linfoot throughout race two, eventually getting the better of the Honda Racing rider to get his first win of the season.
The results were more than impressive, given that Byrne was left battered and bruised following a huge crash during pre-season testing in Spain. The record-breaking champion had to have surgery after breaking his hand in the accident, meaning it was uncertain that Byrne would even make the start of the season.
Ahead of Brands Hatch, Byrne said: “It has been a bit of a crazy few weeks really because it doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was lying in the gravel in Almeria knowing I had done myself damage. I did everything I physically could to be back ready for the first round at Donington Park and even before the test I wasn’t sure that was going to be possible.
“If somebody would have said to me before the races at Donington that I would get a win and a second place I would have taken their arm off for it, so I couldn’t have been much happier to leave the first round with that in the bag ahead of my home round at Brands Hatch.”
Byrne has a 12 point lead over Linfoot heading into round two where the riders will be using the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, which is a track that Byrne knows very well, taking a double victory there last season.
Byrne added: “This weekend I am looking forward to my home round and doing the best job I possibly can to get the PBM Kawasaki back up on the podium. I am still feeling a bit rusty where I am where I am not at one hundred per cent with my hand but you can guarantee that I will be giving it everything I have in the two races on Sunday.”
The action at Brands Hatch gets underway this Friday with the BSB riders taking part in their first two practice sessions of the weekend.
The races themselves take place on Sunday, with race one taking place at 13:30 and race two scheduled to begin at 16:30.
