Shane Byrne will defend his British Superbike Championship crown with Paul Bird Motorsport after signing an extension with the team for 2015. The record-breaking four time champion will be partnered once again by Stuart Easton with the Scotsman also retained by the Cumbria-based squad.
Byrne was linked with a possible switch to the TAS-run Tyco outfit but is happy to be staying on with PBM for a fifth straight year, something he always felt was his preferred option.
“Whereas I had lots of very good offers from other teams, my main aim was always to stay with the PBM team and I’m delighted to remain with Paul Bird for 2015. It’s important to have the best team around you and given our success over the past three years, it’s a proven and established package which I feel at home with. I’m even more determined to go out there and win the title again so I’m particularly pleased to get this all sorted now and we can focus on our preparations for next season.”
Having missed out on the showdown this season, Easton went on to claim the BSB Riders’ Cup before crowning his year with victory at the Macau Grand Prix last weekend. Easton is looking to go one better in 2015 and force his way into the top six at the very least.
“It’s great to have the deal sorted early and we can concentrate on 2015. It was important to have continuity and to remain with the same team on the same bike so it’s a positive step for me. I found myself scoring good points and had some great results in the last few meetings of this year so the plan is to continue where I left off this season and to seriously challenge for the title in 2015.”
