The final race weekend of the 2008 British Superbike season got underway at Brands Hatch today. Newly crowned champion Shane Byrne finished both free practice sessions in 3rd. His Airwaves Ducati teammate Leon Camier finished 5th and 6th.
Shane used the days two practice sessions to complete race runs and worked hard to produce consistently quick laps in both. His best time of 46.322 came in the afternoon on lap 10 of 37. Completing more laps than any other rider, Leon's fastest time of 46.724 also came in the second of the two sessions.
After a positive first day, Shane was feeling confident about the weekend.
Shane:"The Airwaves Ducati team has done a fantastic job once again. We approached practice as we have done all season, focusing on two long race runs. In both we have been consistently quick and I'm confident we can find the extra couple of tenths that we need to be at the top of the timesheets tomorrow."
Leon:"I really like Brands Hatch but as I have never ridden the Indy circuit on a superbike before, I had to spend time building up my knowledge of the track and getting myself into a rhythm. We've got a few changes that we'd like to make to the Airwaves Ducati for practice in the morning and then I think we'll be in good shape for a strong qualifying performance."
Qualifying for round twelve of the British Superbike championship starts tomorrow, Saturday October 11th at 1400hrs.
