Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne will make a timely return from injury at this weekend’s British Superbike meeting at Assen, ensuring he will take a full part in the championship showdown. The Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider injured his shoulder in practice at Cadwell Park, causing him to miss both races there and at Donington Park.
With the championship points effectively reset for the showdown, Byrne is still firmly in contention and expects to get stronger and stronger over the remaining three events.
“I love Assen and have plenty of experience in both MotoGP and WSB so for me it’s the ideal place to start the Showdown. My shoulder is getting better all the time and I had a good run out around Snetterton yesterday so hopefully it will be OK once we get out on track. Assen is a very physically demanding track and it won’t be easy but I’ll be doing my best. My initial aim is to do the best job I possibly can this weekend and by Silverstone and Brands Hatch, I should be a lot stronger in those final two rounds. I’m really looking forward to racing at Assen as I think it will be one of the best meetings of the year so I can’t wait to get started.”
Like his teammate, Stuart Easton is looking forward to racing at Assen and sees it as an opportunity to get back amongst the frontrunners.
“It was good to get back to some decent results at Donington and I’m hoping we can continue that momentum into Assen. It’s a track I’ve ridden at a couple of times before and I really enjoy the flowing nature so I’m looking forward to it. No one has lots of track time around there so it could spring a few surprises and it’s good to race somewhere a bit different. I’ll be doing my best to get a pair of good results for my Rider’s Cup aspirations and hopefully I can take a few points off Shakey’s rivals to help him in the Showdown.”
