Shane Byrne led home Stuart Easton for a second PBM Kawasaki 1-2 of the day at Knockhill, although they weren’t aware of the achievement at the time. The pair initially finished first and third, a result that was altered after the day’s racing was completed, but their 1-2 in race two would eventually complete a perfect weekend for the Penrith team.
Michael Laverty, the recipient of the penalty which relegated him from second to fourth in race one, was the early leader in race two but he was overhauled by Byrne at half distance. A brief rain shower would hand Easton and Josh Brookes the opportunity to ease through on lap nineteen but the arrival of the red flags gave Laverty a reprieve with a new eleven lap race put in place.
Unfortunately for Tyco BMW, who had already lost Tommy Bridewell to a crash before the stoppage, Laverty fell backwards anyway at the restart with Byrne cruising to victory ahead of Easton and Brookes. The reigning champion has moved 35 points clear of Brookes in the standings and paid tribute to his team which completed the weekend unbeaten.
“The plan was to start from the front and finish at the front and with not having a full tank of fuel for the restart; I knew I could push hard straight away. The bike was perfect so a big thanks to the team and also to the guys at K-Tech and with Stuart in second, it’s been a great weekend for Paul Bird Motorsport.”
Luke Mossey looked on course for a fine fourth until a crash on the penultimate lap, his misfortune promoting Ryuichi Kiyonari to his equal-best result of the season. Jason O’Halloran relegated Laverty to sixth while Danny Buchan backed up his strong first race with seventh in the second. James Westmoreland followed him home in eighth, handing JG Speedfit Kawasaki something to cheer after a second straight DNF for James Ellison.
