Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki’s Shane Byrne stormed to victory in MCE British Superbike race one at Thruxton. The current champ did not have it easy though, as Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes and Samsung Honda’s Alex Lowes were on his case.
On the last lap of the race Brookes made a daring move on the triple champ, and did lead until the last corner, and Byrne decided to make his move once again. Lowes made a mistake and went wide and was unable to catch up with the two front bikes.
The win now means that Byrne has a ten point championship lead and will also start race two from the front row as he set the fastest lap time.
The race was action packed from the beginning. Aussie rookie, Milwaukee Yamaha rider Josh Waters crashed on lap one, but was unhurt. Then by lap four rain started to fall on the circuit. Veteran rider Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Chris Walker made the most of the damp conditions and did manage, if only briefly, to make his way to third in the race, only for him to run off the circuit and then retire.
The rain did stop, but the yellow flag made an appearance on lap eight, when Byrne’s team-mate Rapid Solicitor’s Kawasaki rider Keith Farmer crashed on the start/finish line when his bike touched the grass, and even though he was ok, his Shane Byrne-borrowed leathers did not fair so well. The safety car then came out for two laps, and during that time many of the riders were able to group up together for some more battles to commence.
Farmer and Waters were not the only casualties of the race, both Bathams Honda rider Tommy Bridewell and Rapido Sport Racing’s Matteo Baiocco experienced technical problems, preventing them from reaching the chequered flag. Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan received a five second penalty for overtaking during the safety car period.
Milwaukee Yamaha’s James Ellison had a consistent race and was able to stay out of trouble, and even though he started from seventeenth on the grid, he managed to claw his way up to sixth overall. There was a battle between Buildbase BMW Motorrad team-mates Jon Kirkham and James Westmoreland throughout the twenty lap dash, but it was the shorter of the two riders, Westmoreland, who came out on top.
Veteran racers PR Kawasaki’s Karl Harris and Bathams Honda’s Michael Rutter came over the line seventh and eighth respectively, closely followed by Thruxton debutants Tyco Suzuki’s P.J Jacobsen and Padgett’s Honda rider Jakub Smrz, who rounded off the top ten. Former champion Samsung Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari could not emulate his team-mate Lowes success and finished the race in seventeenth position.
