Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki’s Shane Byrne left it till his final lap to top the final MCE British Superbike free practice session with a 1’35.580, just as the chequered flag appeared, pipping Samsung Honda’s Alex Lowes and Milwaukee Yamaha’s James Ellison to the post.

Ellison was the quickest rider out on the Cheshire track for most of the  session, but in the final minute Lowes went three hundredths of a second quicker, but that was not to last, as the reigning champ had just that extra bit of pace to go one tenth of a second faster than the Derby lad.

Tyco Suzuki’s teenage sensation, PJ Jacobsen had a solid time out on the circuit, and with five minutes to go was third fastest with a 1’36.338. Unfortunately for the New Yorker the more experienced BSB riders went quicker with 30 seconds remaining, and Jacobsen slipped to fourth.

Buildbase BMW’s Jon Kirkham rounded off the top five, closely followed by Halsall Racing newbie, Tommy Bridewell who placed his Kawasaki sixth fastest with his best lap of 1’36.541.

Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes was four tenths of a second slower than his diminutive team-mate and ended the session outside the top five, with Samsung Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari not far behind, with a time that placed him eighth fastest. GBmoto’s Dan Linfoot and Buildbase BMW’s James Westmoreland rounded off the top ten.