Shane Byrne and Alex Lowes were separated by thousandths of a second in both races.

Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki’s Shane Byrne maintains a slender one-point advantage over Samsung Honda’s Lowes after the title protagonists took a win apiece in the Silverstone British Superbike Championship (BSB) races.

Lowes started on pole for the opener but it was Byrne, nursing various injuries from a free practice crash, who took the lead on the opening lap.

The Samsung Honda rider quickly re-took the lead and soon Byrne came under fire from Aussie rider, Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes.

The three engaged in a back and forth battle before Brookes suffered a title-defining blow, forced to retire with a mechanical problem.

From there it was up to Byrne and Lowes to fight it out, and the battle continued until the closing corners of the final lap, with the Honda edging out the Kawasaki by just 0.094 seconds at the line.

Milwaukee Yamaha’s Tommy Bridewell grabbed third place, fending off Tyco Suzuki’s PJ Jacobsen to the wave of the chequered flag.

James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) was fifth, with Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW), Peter Hickman (Lloyds British GBMoto Honda), James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW), Matteo Baiocco (Rapido Sport Racing Ducati) and Barry Burrell (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) completing the top 10.

The second Aussie in the field, Josh Waters, rode to 12th place in his maiden race with Halsall Kawasaki.

The second race saw Byrne return fire against Lowes, with the duo again sparring for the full race distance.

Byrne took the lead early, with Lowes back by him before the end of the opening lap. The positions changed again after five laps and Lowes eked out a small advantage before a thrilling run to the line resulted in a photo finish.

The win went the way of Byrne by 0.012 seconds, seeing him reclaim the BSB title lead.

Bridewell ran third again, with Ellison fourth and Brookes salvaging fifth from a tough weekend.

Jacobsen, Kirkham, Baiocco, Westmoreland and Jakub Smrz made for a largely unchanged backend in the second BSB race, while Waters brought home another solid 12th place finish.

Techcare Profile Triumph rider Luke Mossey won the Supersport feature showdown ahead of Aussie Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph) and Stuart Easton (MarTrain Yamaha).

Gearlink Kawasaki’s Alastair Seeley led from the race start, with Samsung Honda’s Jason O’Halloran second from McConnell.

A safety car intervention to attend to leaked fluid saw the race resume on lap seven, with O’Halloran, Seeley and Mossey all taking turns at the front.

A collision between Seeley and a luckless O’Halloran saw the Aussie retire from the race, though Seeley was later handed a 10-second penalty for his part.

Mossey confirmed the win by a 0.140-second margin over McConnell, while Easton headed off Ben Wilson and Graeme Gowland by a split-second margin.

Easton retains the title lead by 19 points ahead of the season finale.

Filia Backkund was a comfortable winner in the Superstock 1000 race, with the ILR Kawasaki rider coming home close to 10 seconds clear of Hudson Kennaugh (second) and Lee Jackson (third).

Gearlink Kawasaki rider Luke Hedger won the Superstock 600 race by 0.4 seconds from Callan Cooper, with Ben Godfrey taking the final step on the podium.

The best of the Aussies was Levi Day in 13th place on the Moto-Breakers Kawasaki, one spot clear of Gearlink Kawasaki’s Mark Wilkinson, while James Mutton came home in 26th.

2013 British Superbike Championship
Round 11 – Silverstone

Superbike race one:
1. Alex LOWES
2. Shane BYRNE
3. Tommy BRIDEWELL
4. PJ JACOBSEN
5. James ELLISON
6. Jon KIRKHAM
7. Peter HICKMAN
8. James WESTMORELAND
9. Matteo BAIOCCO
10. Barry BURRELL
11. Freddy FORAY
12. Josh WATERS
13. Chris WALKER
14. Lee COSTELLO
15. Jakub SMRZ
16. Michael RUTTER
17. Danny DE BOER
18. Karl HARRIS
19. Aaron ZANOTTI
20. Jenny TINMOUTH

Superbike race two:
1. Shane BYRNE
2. Alex LOWES
3. Tommy BRIDEWELL
4. James ELLISON
5. Josh BROOKES
6. PJ JACOBSEN
7. Jon KIRKHAM
8. Matteo BAIOCCO
9. James WESTMORELAND
10. Jakub SMRZ
11. Chris WALKER
12. Josh WATERS
13. Dan LINFOOT
14. Noriyuki HAGA
15. Freddy FORAY
16. Barry BURRELL
17. Lee COSTELLO
18. Michael RUTTER
19. Aaron ZANOTTI
20. Martin JESSOPP

Superbike championship standings (after round 11 of 12):
1. Shane BYRNE 604
2. Alex LOWES 603
3. James ELLISON 562
4. Josh BROOKES 546
5. James WESTMORELAND 534
6. Ryuichi KIYONARI 522
7. Jon KIRKHAM 193
8. Tommy BRIDEWELL 174
9 .PJ JACOBSEN 167
10. Chris WALKER 141
14. Josh WATERS (AUS) 75

Supersport feature race:
1. Luke MOSSEY
2. Billy McCONNELL
3. Stuart EASTON
4. Ben WILSON
5. Graeme GOWLAND
6. Glenn IRWIN
7. Richard COOPER
8. Taylor MACKENZIE
9. Luke STAPLEFORD
10. 10 Alastair SEELEY
DNF. Jason O’Halloran (AUS)
DNF. Glen Richards (AUS)

Supersport championship standings (after round 11 of 12):
1. Stuart EASTON 392
2. Alastair SEELEY 373
3. Billy McCONNELL 314
4. Ben WILSON 303
5. Graeme GOWLAND 237
6. Jason O’HALLORAN 200
7. Glen RICHARDS 163
8. Richard COOPER 157
9. Taylor MACKENZIE 121
10. Glenn IRWIN 116

Click here for detailed results