From a press release issued by Monstermob Ducati British Superbike Team:

Round 2 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS, Snetterton

Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th April 2003

BYRNE INCREASES BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

MonsterMob Ducati’s Shane Byrne continued his success at the second round of the British Superbike Championship at a warm and sunny Snetterton today when he followed up a second place in the opening leg with a win in race two to end the day leading the championship 27 points ahead of nearest rival Michael Rutter.

In race one, Shakey led for most of the race before suffering tyre problems in the later stages and had to settle for second place at the flag behind Rutter.

In race two, the 26 year old from Minster, Kent was again involved in a duel with Rutter but went on to take an easy victory after the fellow Ducati rider crashed out at three quarter race distance.

“I was really disappointed for me and the team after race one with having such a good lead and then finishing second. I used the same tyre and it worked perfectly in race two after I conserved it better. The double can come later, I’ll settle for a decent championship lead” said Byrne, who also set pole position during qualifying.

MonsterMob Ducati Supersport rider Stuart Easton suffered a disastrous result when he had to retire at half race distance with an electrical problem aboard the 748RS.

The 18 year old from Hawick ran at the front of the field in the early stages before an intermittent misfire relegated him down the field before retiring.

“I felt comfortable in the race and was lining up a pass for the lead but it kept cutting out. It was dangerous so I pulled in but we know what the problem is.” said pole setter Easton.

Team owner Paul Bird commented: “We’re doing what we needed to do and building a steady points gap in the superbikes with Shakey but we’re naturally disappointed with Stuart’s DNF. But it’s not a disaster by any means and there’s still a long way to go” said the Penrith rally driver.

The next round takes place at Thruxton next weekend.

Superbike Results

Race One

1, Michael Rutter (Ducati) 28m09.817s, 2, Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 28m14.973s, 3, John Reynolds (Suzuki) 28m21.524s, 4, Steve Plater (Honda) 28m28.963s, 5, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 28m28.963s, 6, John Crawford (Ducati) 28m29.012s, 7, Paul Young (Yamaha) 28m29.747s, 8, Gary Mason (Yamaha) 28m30.726s, 9, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 28m37.205s, 10, Jon Kirkham (Yamaha) 28m37.677s.

Race Two

1, Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 22m18.701s, 2, Sean Emmett (Ducati) 22m28.061s, 3. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 22m33.101s, 4, Gary Mason (Yamaha) 22m36.496s, 5, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 2m41.753s, 6, John Crawford (Ducati) 22m42.931s, 7, Mark Heckles (Honda) 22m47.452s, 8, Steve Plater (Honda) 22m47.829s, 9, Paul Young (Yamaha) 22m53.968s, 10, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 22m54.294s.

Superbike Championship Standings after Round 2

1. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 90pts
2. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 63pts
3. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 44pts
4. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 43pts
5. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 40pts
6. Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 32pts
7. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 32pts
8. John Crawford (Ducati) 30pts
9. Steve Plater (Honda) 27pts
10. Lee Jackson (Kawasaki) 21pts

Supersport Result

1, Michael Laverty (Honda) 25m42.368s, 2, Karl Harris (Honda) 25m44.188s, 3, Rob Frost (Kawasaki) 25m45.808s, 4, Adrian Coates (Honda) 25m49.400s, 5, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 25m49.488s, 6, John McGuinness (Honda) 26m07.002s, 7, Craig Jones (Triumph) 26m12.582s, 8, Jim Moodie (Triumph) 26m12.718s, 9, Tom Tunstall (Yamaha) 26m12.931s, 10, Callum Ramsay (Honda) 26m14.489s.

Supersport Championship Standings After Round 2

1. Karl Harris 45pts
2. Michael Laverty 33pts
3. Adrian Coates 24pts
4. John Crockford 20pts
5. Simon Andrews 20pts
6. Stuart Easton 16pts
7. Craig Jones 16pts
8. Rob Frost 16pts
9. Leon Haslam 14pts
10. Jim Moodie 11pts

Sky Sports will be covering British Superbikes, British Supersport and the Virgin Mobile Yamaha R6 Cup live at all events. The broadcast will run from 1.00pm – 3.00pm and will be repeated on the evening of Race Day and Monday am.