Three-time MCE British Superbike Champion Shane Byrne will return to the series in 2013 to defend his title in an attempt to become the most successful rider in its history.
Byrne had the choice of staying in the domestic series or swapping to his team boss Paul Bird's MotoGP outfit as a replacement for the departing James Ellison but has elected to remain in Britain.
"I was in the enviable position of being offered a ride in either MotoGP or BSB by Paul Bird and after some careful consideration; I thought that the option of staying with my championship winning team on a great bike in BSB was too strong a temptation to resist," said Byrne.
"We are within sight of some records and so for the first time ever in my career, I am riding for the same team again but it wasn't really a difficult decision to make. We are going into 2013 even stronger and with a few improvements to the bike as well as me training harder than ever, I'm hoping I can defend the title but it won't be easy. The one remaining decision I have to make is whether I run with my traditional number 67 or I use the number one plate, you'll have to wait and see!"
