Kent’s Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne continued his fine form in the MCE British Superbike Championship over the bank holiday weekend at Cadwell Park. 

Shakey won the opening race on Monday and followed that up with a second podium in race two with third place, to continue his recent good form. With the two podium finishes the 39-year-old secured his place in the season ending showdown.

In front of the biggest crowd of the season and in glorious conditions, the first 18-lap race saw Byrne go head to head with main title rival Leon Haslam from the front row of the grid. Shakey grabbed the lead on lap four when Haslam ran wide but he was relegated to third a couple of laps later when a missed gear allowed Haslam and Jason O’Halloran past.

With three laps to go, Shakey regained second place before finding the narrowest of gaps to pass Haslam at the Gooseneck on the final lap which saw him hang on to take his seventh win of the season and with it, career win number 75, although only his second at Cadwell Park.

The second race later in the day saw the safety car deployed after a first lap crash before racing resumed on lap four with Shakey in the lead. He dropped to third but a titanic battle ensued with Byrne shadowing Haslam and O’Halloran but he couldn’t find a way past so had to settle for third place and another vital Podium Point for the Showdown.

Speaking after the weekend’s racing, Byrne said: “I knew I had to get by Leon before the bottom of the Mountain on the final lap of the first race but he was strong into Park Corner which stopped me from having a go there.

“I’d seen him run wide into Chris Curve so I went in smooth and maintained my momentum to just get through before the Gooseneck. I managed to block any attempts and I have to say a big thanks to the Be Wiser Ducati team as they gave me a great bike.

“I tried really hard in the second race but the bike seemed to be moving around more than in the first and when I checked the tyre afterwards, it was considerably more worn than the two riders in front of me. I’m not sure why as we didn’t change the bike so we’ll need to look into it. I really like Cadwell Park so I’ve got to be happy coming away with a first and a third and clinching my place in the Showdown.”

Images courtesy of www.psp-images.co.uk