Shane Byrne is heading to Oulton Park this weekend with a six point lead over title rival Leon Haslam. This is the closest we’ve ever seen the British title fight as we head into the first round of the Showdown, so it’s crucial for Byrne to take a maximum points haul this weekend to solidify his place at the top of the standings as the grid heads to Assen.
The five time British champion hasn’t had the best of seasons, despite sitting at the top of the overall standings. But he enjoyed success at Oulton Park in May, and it’ll be something he’ll be keen to do again. Silverstone was somewhat of a disaster for Byrne, as he crashed out of race one and three, and scored a third place finish in race two. Speaking of his weekend in the treacherous British summer, Byrne said:
“Clearly Silverstone last weekend never went to plan for my side of the garage, there was the possibility of 15 more Podium Points and we ended up with just one. That said there were plenty of positives for me too which I certainly plan on taking into the Showdown starting this coming weekend.
Going on to discuss the first round of the Showdown, he commented: “We had a win and a second at Oulton Park earlier this year so the aim is obvious, to go one better and do the double whilst keeping a watchful eye on our closest rivals.”
Byrne’s team mate Glenn Irwin also suffered mixed fortunes at Silverstone. Although he took his maiden BSB victory in race one, he didn’t score points in either of the other two races. Irwin has suffered with serious arm and shoulder injuries that he sustained in a crash at Knockhill, which pushed him out of Showdown contention. Speaking of his weekend at Silverstone, Irwin said:
“Obviously I won’t forget Silverstone in a hurry but that’s now done and dusted and I intend to keep building and making progress. We made positive steps at Silverstone outside of our victory, we made the SC1 tyre work much better in the second race and I felt content that I could have this option in the future races.”
But he insists that he will help his team mate to take maximum points at Oulton Park, saying:
“My role is now wingman to Shakey and I want to be a good one at that, we all know my objective this weekend.”
