MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship

Brands Hatch GP Circuit, England

October 14, 2017

Race One Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Shane Byrne, UK (Duc Panigale R), 16 laps, Total Race Time 22:53.013, Best Lap Time 1:25.342

2. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW S1000RR), -1.799 seconds, 1:25.331

3. Josh Brookes, Australia (Yam YZF-R1), -2.196, 1:25.225

4. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -8.724, 1:25.550

5. James Ellison, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -8.785, 1:25.581

6. Jason O’Halloran, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -8.994, 1:25.757

7. Peter Hickman, UK (BMW S1000RR), -14.568, 1:25.734

8. Lee Jackson, UK (BMW S1000RR), -17.260, 1:26.166

9. Bradley Ray, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), -17.305, 1:26.001

10. Richard Cooper, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), -17.576, 1:25.977

11. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -23.463, 1:26.315

12. Luke Mossey, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -23.557, 1:26.223

13. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), -23.669, 1:26.462

14. James Westmoreland, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), -41.384, 1:27.759

15. Kyle Ryde, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), -49.598, 1:27.902

16. Dean Harrison, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), -49.642, 1:28.120

17. Shaun Winfield, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -73.699, 1:28.897

18. Glenn Irwin, UK (Duc Panigale R), -7 laps, DNF, 1:26.033

19. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -12 laps, DNF, 1:28.079

20. Michael Laverty, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -13 laps, DNF, 1:25.708

21. Dan Linfoot, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), DNS

22. Jake Dixon, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), DNS

23. John Hopkins, USA (Duc Panigale R), DNS

24. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS

25. Martin Jessopp, UK (BMW S1000RR), DNS

26. Michael Rutter, UK (BMW S1000RR), DNS

Championship Point Standings (after 24 of 26 races):

1. Haslam, 625 points

2. Byrne, 604

3. Brookes, 596

4. TIE, Dixon/Hickman, 558

6. O’Halloran, 536

7. Iddon, 207

8. Ellison, 196

9. Mossey, 184

10. Linfoot, 147

More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:

Shakey seals race one victory to close the gap to Haslam at Brands Hatch

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne closed Leon Haslam’s advantage in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings ahead of tomorrow’s title-deciding final two races at Brands Hatch.

As the race got underway, Byrne had a slow start off the line as Josh Brookes, Christian Iddon and Haslam stole the advantage. On the second lap Iddon fired the Tyco BMW into the lead at Paddock Hill Bend as Byrne closed in on Haslam.

A lap later though and the race was red flagged when Dan Linfoot suffered a technical problem which subsequently caused several riders to crash out of contention with Jake Dixon, Sylvain Guintoli, Michael Rutter and Martin Jessopp all involved.

On the restart Iddon led the pack after a lightening start ahead of Haslam, Byrne and Michael Laverty with Brookes, Jason O’Halloran and James Ellison in close contention.

Byrne though was on the attack and he made a move into second place and then had his sights set on the Tyco BMW ahead of him, passing Iddon to hit the front of the pack. The pair edged out an advantage, but behind Michael Laverty was forced to retire out of the battle.

Brookes was getting into a rhythm and was making moves through the field, forcing his way through into third place and gapping the battle for fourth behind him.

It was a fierce battle for supremacy but Haslam was not giving up without a fight and a typically determined performance saw him hold off Ellison and O’Halloran. Peter Hickman held seventh place, just ahead of team-mate Lee Jackson and Bradley Ray. Richard Cooper completed the top ten for Buildbase Suzuki.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Race 1:

1.Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)

2.Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +1.799s

3.Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +2.196s

4.Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +8.724s

5.James Ellison (McAMS Yamaha) +8.785s

6.Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +8.994s

7.Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +14.568s

8.Lee Jackson (Smiths Racing BMW) +17.260s

9.Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) +17.305s

10.Richard Cooper (Bennetts Suzuki) +17.576s

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Brands Hatch Race 1:

1.Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 625

2.Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 604

3.Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) 596

4.Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) 558

5.Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) 558

6.Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) 536

For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne

Be Wiser Ducati

Race 1 winner

“The bike’s been working well all weekend and pole position set me up nicely for the race. Everything was working well and when I saw the time I’d done, I was more than happy so I didn’t need to do anything else. In the re-started race, I got away at the front and it’s all I can do to try to win races.

“With the run of bad luck we’ve had, I’m in a situation where I’m so far behind Leon, the pressure’s off and I can just go out there and focus solely on racing. Christian pushed me hard but towards the end, I lowered my lap times to finish the race strongly.

“I haven’t won a race since July, which is a long time ago, and it’s almost like I’ve forgotten how to do it but I’ve got a great team behind me at PBM and with two races tomorrow, I’ll be trying to do exactly the same again.”

More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Ducati:

 First Blood To Shakey At Brands Finale

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne kept his hopes of landing a sixth MCE British Superbike Championship very much alive when he romped to his sixth race victory of the season at his local Brands Hatch circuit today.

Aboard the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R, the Sittingbourne-based ace beat off title rivals Josh Brookes and Leon Haslam to land his 20th win around the Kent Grand Prix track and his 83rd victory in BSB to cut Haslam’s advantage to 21 points going into tomorrow’s two races.

Byrne had been in imperious form during free practice, topping the combined timesheets with a lap of 1m 24.673s, two tenths of a second inside the lap record and he carried that form into qualifying. Indeed, a lap of 1m 24.163s was not only half a second quicker than what he’d gone all weekend, it was also the fastest ever two-wheel lap around the 2.43-mile GP circuit as he swept to his 57th career pole position.

Half a second quicker than his closest rival, Shakey was in confident mood heading into the 20-lap race but the race was only three laps old when it was red-flagged due to a five-rider crash. On the restart, held over the shorter distance of 16 laps, Shakey took the lead on the second lap but Christian Iddon stuck to his rear wheel.

At half race distance, the gap was still only a quarter of a second but on lap 11, Byrne doubled his advantage and with three laps remaining, held a one second advantage which he carried to the flag and with Haslam only managing fourth, it substantially reduced the points gap.

Team-mate Glenn Irwin was 16th fastest overall in the free practice sessions but despite going three tenths of a second quicker in qualifying, he had to start from the sixth row of the grid after a technical problem aboard his Be Wiser Ducati. He was holding onto 16th when the red flag came out and in the re-run he was soon up inside the top 12.

However, having worked his way up to tenth, the Carrickfergus rider pulled into the pits to retire at the end of lap ten, an intermittent misfire that had hindered his progress during practice returning and ending his race early.

Shane Byrne: “The bike’s been working well all weekend and pole position set me up nicely for the race. Everything was working well and when I saw the time I’d done, I was more than happy so I didn’t need to do anything else. In the re-started race, I got away at the front and it’s all I can do to try to win races. With the run of bad luck we’ve had, I’m in a situation where I’m so far behind Leon, the pressure’s off and I can just go out there and focus solely on racing. Christian pushed me hard but towards the end, I lowered my lap times to finish the race strongly. I haven’t won a race since July, which is a long time ago, and it’s almost like I’ve forgotten how to do it but I’ve got a great team behind me at PBM and with two races tomorrow, I’ll be trying to do exactly the same again.”

Glenn Irwin: “We’ve been struggling a bit with an intermittent misfire all weekend and just when we think we’ve got to the bottom of it, it reappears so it’s been a frustrating couple of days. In the first race, I was really struggling but for the re-run, everything was going really well to begin with and once I’d got up to tenth, the riders in front started to come back to me. Sadly, the misfire returned and I had little option other than to retire. The team have worked hard all weekend and have turned the bike upside down so they deserve a bit of luck which is hopefully what we’ll get in tomorrow’s races.”

Phil Borley, Technical Director: “It’s been a great weekend so far for Shakey and right from the off he’s been the man to beat with his qualifying lap being simply brilliant. He delivered the win in the first race and, with Leon finishing in fourth, it was probably the best we could have hoped for so we’ll hopefully have two more positive races tomorrow. Unfortunately, Glenn had an issue with the bike which we’re still investigating and it was a real shame as he was running in the top ten and catching the riders in front of him. We’ll work hard tonight to get the bike ready for tomorrow so he can end the year strongly.”