Rizla Suzuki’s Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne narrowly missed the rostrum on his first Superbike visit to Croft in North Yorkshire for the 10th round of the Bennetts British Championship. In a treacherously wet second race, Shakey recovered from an uncharacteristic poor start and an early run off the track to chase down the leaders. He would have challenged for third if the race – which had been shortened by two laps due to the weather – had run its full distance. In the opening race, plagued by drizzling rain on a dry track, he took fifth place.
Steve Plater, making his second appearance for Rizla Suzuki as a stand-in for the injured James Haydon, took impressive ninth and 11th places from starting 19th on the grid. Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari won the opening race and Ducati’s Leon Haslam the second.
Rizla Suzuki will attend the official MCRCB test at Cadwell Park next Thursday, August 17th. The team will then return to the Lincolnshire circuit for the 11th round of the Championship on Bank Holiday Monday, August 28th.
*Brendan Roberts won the National Superstock Championship at Croft with three rounds to spare on his Crescent supplied Suzuki GSX-R1000*
Shakey:“In the second race my bike was mega and I was smiling inside my helmet. If I hadn’t made a simple mistake and run off the track early on and lost a lot of time rejoining, then I could have had a podium finish.
“It’s another weekend of finishing fourth and fifth. That doesn’t make me happy and I need to break this run of being just behind the podium results, it’s not where I want to be, I should be challenging for the wins.”
Steve: “I am starting to gel the Rizla Suzuki and this weekend has been a big step forward. The results are okay but what’s more important is the progress I have made with the bike. I am starting to understand and exploit its performance.
“I am satisfied with the day’s work, especially in the second race when I had real confidence in the bike and could ride aggressively – I hope I get another chance to race it. Being part of Rizla Suzuki is a great experience and I’m enjoying every minute of it.”
Robert Wicks, Team Manager: “For the second meeting in a row Shakey has scored fourth and fifth place results. He has shown again he has the pace to challenge for the podium. He’s strong and his confidence remains sky high as we enter the final leg of the season.
“Steve enjoyed two inspirational rides from a lowly starting position. It’s been another decent performance from him. James Haydon will have a medical examination early in the coming week to assess whether he will be capable of racing at Cadwell Park. We are keen to get him back but if he is unavailable we have a strong substitute in Steve.
“Congratulations to Suzuki’s Brendan Roberts on securing the National Superstock Championship with three rounds to go. He has been the class of the field and his victory shows just how good the production based GSX-R1000 really is. His bike is almost identical to the model you can buy in any authorized Suzuki showroom and is the class of its field.”
Race One Results: 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 27:23.430,
2: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.947,
3: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +2.132,
4: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +2.339,
5: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +19.107,
6: Michael Rutter (Honda) +25.601,
7: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +37.520,
8: Craig Coxhell (Kawasaki) +38.093,
9: Steve Plater (Rizla Suzuki) +38.838,
10: Karl Harris (Honda) +39.410.
Race Two Results: 1: Haslam 26:57.266,
2: Harris + 0.090,
3: Lavilla +13.712,
4: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +15.954,
5: Kiyonari +23.642, 6: Rutter +25.553,
7: Michael Laverty (Honda) +26.782,
8: Peter Hickman (Kawasaki) +43.486,
9: Glen Richards (Honda) +45.633,
10: Coxhell +49.399,
11: Steve Plater (Rizla Suzuki) +1:00.790.
Championship Positions after 10 of 13 rounds: 1: Kiyonari 310,
2: Haslam 307,
3: Lavilla 292,
4: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) 198,
5: Rea 176,
6: Harris 175,
7: Laverty 139,
8: Rutter 138,
9: Hill 127,
10: Richards 87,
16: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) 36,
17: Steve Plater (Rizla Suzuki) 27.
Related Linkswww.rizla-suzuki.co.uk
Related News
