Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider Shane Byrne is on pole for the first MCE British Superbike race of the year at Brands Hatch. The reigning triple champion has been on form all weekend, and topped the practice sessions this morning and on Friday, but getting pole for the race tomorrow was his main goal today.

“To be honest pole position doesn’t mean so much here, the most important thing is to get on the front row.  I was aiming for a front row because Brands is so tight and twisty. But I am happy to be on pole for the race tomorrow.” Says the current BSB champ, speaking to bikesportnews.com at Brands Hatch this evening.

This years BSB grid is lining up to be one of the most exciting competitions the series has seen for a while, with riders like Samsung Honda’s Alex Lowes, and Milwaukee Yamaha’s James Ellison setting some fast lap times this weekend, and Byrne is well aware of the competition that is out there.

“It is quite funny that the emphasis is going to be on this ‘war for four’ thing because I think that there is going to be so much more to the championship than just me and Kiyo, so hopefully me and him can disappear at the front and have some really good races. There will be a war for four, but I am sure that plenty of other riders will have the same idea too.” Said Byrne.

The Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider’s team mate Keith Farmer, made an impact this afternoon and set the fastest lap in qualifying two. Byrne says getting his young team mate involved in the battle for first can only benefit the Lambeth born racer.

“It was a bit of a team strategy of ours to drag Keith along a little bit, because basically we needed him in the mix. Keith being up there and being fast can help me with my race situation because he is an aggressive rider and he is strong, and if he is there to take away points from my rivals, then that is always good.”