Shane Byrne kept up his record of winning at least once at every British Superbike meeting this season by winning race two at Knockhill. The championship leader had to work hard to see off Ryuichi Kiyonari who recovered from two mistakes to chase the Londoner all the way.
After setting a new lap record in race one, Byrne started from pole position but Kiyonari kept him well within his sights as the front two distanced themselves from the rest of the field. The Japanese rider hit the front for the first time on lap twenty but a near high-side at the hairpin next time around undid all his hard work.
Ryuichi regained his rhythm to close the gap and despite a second slip-up at the hairpin, the Buildbase BMW was close enough for an attack on the final lap but Byrne was ready for the challenge and defended into the last corner before winning the drag race to the line by 0.176s.
“It’s fair to say that Kiyo has been the man to beat all weekend, his pace has been phenomenal”, Byrne acknowledged. “He came past me and then when he made a mistake I knew that was my chance. I got it back, but he still tried to get me, like a little robot with a chip in him not wanting to give up.”
Kiyonari’s second place solidified his position in the showdown six with Chris Walker boosting his title hopes with a magnificent third ahead of Josh Brookes. Stuart Easton couldn’t hit the heights of race one but still took a solid fifth with Dan Linfoot completing the top six ahead of Tommy Bridewell and a disappointed James Ellison.
