News 16 May 2011

Kirkham and Byrne take Croft British Superbike victories

Byrne won race two at Croft to take over the lead in the BSB championship on Sunday.

Byrne won race two at Croft to take over the lead in the BSB championship on Sunday.

HM Plant Honda’s Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne returned to the top step of the podium in the second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race of the day at Croft to take the lead in the overall standings by three points from John Hopkins.

Byrne held off his rivals to secure his second race win of the season with Kawasaki’s Stuart Easton in second and Hopkins third.

Australia’s Josh Brookes was fourth ahead of Loris Baz and an exceptional ride from Tommy Hill in sixth.

Alex Lowes was again victorious in the Mirror.co.uk BSB Evo class ahead of Aussie teammate Glen Richards and Barry Burrell.

“I wish it could have been a double win here today for HM Plant Honda as I have been desperate to do a good job here this weekend,” Byrne said.

“It was disappointing we had our first mechanical problem of the year in the opening race but we bounced back for the second one and I am pleased we still have the championship lead.”

Earlier in the day, Samsung Crescent Racing’s Jon Kirkham took a debut victory in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship in the opening race of the day at Croft, after barging ahead of his teammate Hopkins in changing conditions.

“I honestly can’t believe it – that was the scariest race of my life in terms of deciding on tyres and the changing conditions but what a race! I was lucky to be fair with the pace car as it gave me the chance to close the gap up and it was pretty loose out there,” he beamed.

“I had a few moments and John was riding amazingly, pushing me all the way. This was a fantastic result as we had such a hard start to the weekend, missing a lot of time with an issue but now I just want to get on with race two.”

Garry Mason then held third position to take his first BSB podium for the MSS Colchester Kawasaki team, with Baz stealing fourth from Lowes in the final stages.

Brookes was eighth on the Relentless Suzuki as he worked his way up the order during the race, moving ahead of countryman Richards in the closing stages.

South Australian Billy McConnell finished third in Sunday’s Supersport leg, while Triumph teammate and countryman Paul Young suffered a DNF.

HM Plant Honda’s Jason O’Halloran finished a solid second in the Superstock 1000 class, while David Johnson was 10th.

Yamaha rider Ben Burke finished 34th in the Superstock 600 category, dropping to second in that series.

2011 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship
Round Three – Croft

Race One Results:
1. Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing)
2. John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing) +2.940s
3. Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +3.715s
4. Loris Baz (Motorpoint Yamaha) +13.335s
5. Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +14.699s
6. Stuart Easton (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +19.433s
7. Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +22.455s
8. Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki) +24.297s
9. Glen Richards (WFR Honda) +26.063s
10. Tommy Bridewell (Tyco Honda) +27.747s

Race Two Results:
1. Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda)
2. Stuart Easton (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +1.887s
3. John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing) +2.269s
4. Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki) +2.461s
5. Loris Baz (Motorpoint Yamaha) +5.517s
6. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +6.094s
7. Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +6.748s
8. Michael Rutter (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) +8.120s
9. Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +8.397s
10. Tommy Bridewell (Tyco Honda) +9.657s

Championship Standings:
1. Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) 95
2. John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing) 92
3. Stuart Easton (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 89
4. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 59
5. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 57

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