Shane Byrne heads to Oulton Park this weekend knowing that he needs a win in order to get his season up and running.
The reigning champion missed the opening round of the season at Donington Park with a concussion, before picking a fourth place in race one at Brands Hatch. Byrne would go on to crash out of the second race of the day.
The disappointing start to the year leaves the Be Wiser Ducati rider down in 14th in the championship standings.
Meanwhile his main championship rival from last season, Leon Haslam, leads the way in 2017 with two race wins and two podium finishes to his name.
Although the Showdown system does allow for a couple of slip-ups throughout the season, Byrne knows that he needs to start picking up points.
He said: “It seems all I’ve gone on about lately is getting my season started. Donington Park never went to plan at all and then Brands Hatch wasn’t what we needed so onwards and upwards.
“We tested recently at Oulton Park and got some very important miles under our belts and even though I wasn’t 100% happy with the bike, we still ended up second fastest so hopefully we can build on that. The fact remains and is quite simple, I need to win and that’s my intention.”
With this round once again taking place over a Bank Holiday Weekend, qualifying will take place on Sunday afternoon at 16:07.
The racing action will then take place on May Day, at the usual times of 13:30 and 16:30 respectively.