MSS Colchester Kawasaki's Gary Mason has slammed Shane Byrne tactics in the first British Superbike race at Brands Hatch today, saying they put him and Michael Rutter under undue pressure as they believed the former champion was a podium contender.

Byrne pitted in to change to slicks after a poor tyre choice saw him slipping down the order on a drying track. He then went out to try and get a fast time to make sure of a good grid slot for race two - and tangling with the battle for second even though he was a lap down.

"I'm not having it and I'm not happy. If there isn't a rule against doing what he did then there should be. I thought he had come past me and I had been bumped down to fourth so I pushed so hard to catch him and Michael when I was, in fact, third,m" said Mason, speaking to bikesportnews.com directly after the race.

"I lost the front twice because I was desperate to get back past them to pick up a podium position I was already in. It was so late in the race my crew couldn't pitboard it, it was just a reckless thing for someone of his experience to do."