From a press release issued on behalf of Monster Mob Ducati:

Round 5 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS, Knockhill

Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th May 2003


TREBLE REBEL BYRNE IN COMMAND AGAIN

MonsterMob Ducati’s Shane Byrne continued his dominance of the British Superbike Championship with yet another winning double at a wet and windy Knockhill circuit in Scotland today.

The 26 year old Kent rider made it eight wins for the season so far by taking his seventh win in succession to stamp his authority on the championship after five out of the twelve rounds and in doing so, romped to an unprecedented ‘triple double’ victory.

But the weekend wasn’t without it’s drama with a spill in practice and only qualifying in fourth on the grid meant Byrne had his work cut out but a gamble on wet tyres paid off with a start to finish victory in leg one followed by a similar display in race two, which was shortened as rain started to fall.

“What a fantastic weekend! It’s amazing and I can’t believe that I’ve done another double. My plan was to get a good lead in both races but I was willing that second race to end because it was starting to rain. I’m enjoying winning and hoping I can continue that trend at my local round at Brands Hatch next time” said Byrne.

Shakey’s championship cause was also helped by main rival Michael Rutter scoring just a single point after a problematic day and as a result, Byrne leads the series standings by an amazing 104 points.

For Supersport team mate Stuart Easton, he too endured problems in qualifying but bounced back with a superb fourth place during the race in difficult conditions.

“The track was wet to start with and I went with dry tyres but it was the right decision. It was important to score points today at my home round but a rostrum would have been good,” said the 18-year-old from Hawick.

Team owner Paul Bird was naturally pleased with his team’s dominance of the country’s premier motor sport series.

“It just gets better but I’ve been around long enough to know that our luck will change at some point. Shakey’s riding brilliantly at the moment and long may it continue. Stuart’s got his bogey circuit out of the way and will go well at Brands but we’re in a great position at the moment”

Superbike Results

Race One

1, Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 29:13.549
2, Paul Young (Yamaha) 29:28.498
3, John Reynolds (Suzuki) 29:30.984
4, Steve Plater (Honda) 29:33.763
5, Sean Emmett (Ducati) 29:34.070
6, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 29:43.203
7, Gary Mason (Yamaha) 29:44.050
8, John McGuinness (Ducati) 29:51.399
9, John Crawford (Ducati) 29:53.078
10, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 29:58.194

Race Two

1, Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 17:04.035
2, John Reynolds (Suzuki) 17:06.366
3, Steve Plater (Honda) 17:10.650
4, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 17:11.473
5, Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 17:12.792
6, Gary Mason (Yamaha) 17:18.255
7, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 17:19.776
8, Sean Emmett (Ducati) 16:30.969 (-1lap)
9, Paul Young (Yamaha) 16:36.990 (-1 lap)
10, John McGuinness (Ducati) 16:43.975 (-1 lap)

Superbike Championship Standings after Round 5

1: Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 240pts

2: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 136pts

3: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 110pts

4: John Reynolds (Suzuki) 100pts

5: Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 97pts

6: Gary Mason (Yamaha) 94pts

7: Steve Plater (Honda) 93pts

8: Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 91pts

9: John Crawford (Ducati) 62pts

10: Sean Emmett (Ducati) 58pts

Supersport Result

1, Karl Harris (Honda) 25:53.477
2, Leon Haslam (Ducati) 26:01.233
3, Rob Frost (Kawasaki) 26:04.852
4, Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 26:04.962
5, Jamie Robinson (Yamaha) 26:16.670
6, Adrian Coates (Honda) 26:18.648
7, Craig Jones (Triumph) 26:20.068
8, Tom Sykes (Yamaha) 26:25.204
9, Dean Thomas (Honda) 26:34.372
10, John Crockford (Honda) 26:34.664

Supersport Championship Standings After Round 5

1: Karl Harris 115pts

2: Stuart Easton 64pts

3: Adrian Coates 53pts

4: Simon Andrews 50pts

5: Michael Laverty 47pts

5: Leon Haslam 47pts

7: John Crockford 45pts

8: Rob Frost 41pts

9: Craig Jones 33pts

10: Tom Sykes 29pts