Shane Byrne tightened his grip on the chase for the Bennetts British Superbike title with a second winning double of the season in the fourth round at Donington Park in which the local favourite Leon Haslam had to settle for a second best in each of the races.
Riding the Airwaves Ducati, Byrne started from pole for the third time, but it was James Ellison who made the early running aboard the Hydrex Bike Animal Honda, though by the third lap, he had been taken by the determined Byrne.
He was beginning to pull clear of the pack when the Audi Safety Car was introduced to neutralise the race while marshals dealt with the ensuing fire, following the engine failure, of the Suzuki ridden by Luke Quigley.
“It was difficult, because after making a sensible start, I had just pulled out a bit of a gap when the Safety Car came out, and I had to think about tactics, but then I decided to just go for it,” explained Byrne.
“The wind was a real problem and at Redgate it actually blew the front wheel away and I had to pick the bike up a bit and balance it. It was a fine line between being safe and pushing on but fortunately my gamble paid off.”
Byrne held the upper-hand, crossing the line some 2.47secs up on HM Plant Honda rider Haslam with Tom Sykes third for Rizla Suzuki. Ellison had to settle for fourth place ahead of Leon Camier and Cal Crutchlow.
Karl Harris, suffering from arm-pump, had been running fourth, but dropped back to seventh ahead of Michael Rutter; Michael Laverty who had started from the pit-lane and Simon Andrews.
Haslam, who had blamed himself for a poor-start in the opener, made the perfect get-away next time out to lead, and soon his team-mate Crutchlow was running line adrift while Byrne, who had been sixth on the opening lap, was beginning to make up ground, though not without a scrap with his teamster Camier.
Byrne was running third with four laps remaining, and setting the fastest lap of the race, he closed in on Crutchlow, nosing inside him at the Melbourne Hairpin to go second. Next time round, with an indentical move he had taken Haslam, en route to completing his sixth victory.
“I didn’t make life easy for myself, but then I drifted through, kept it consistent and didn’t make any mistakes,” reflected Byrne, adding, “though that said I nearly fell off at the last corner on one lap.
“But, I got the double, and that is great for me and the team who have given me such a great package to work with – all I have to do is wobble around and win for them.”
Haslam came in second, ahead of Crutchlow, Camier, Ellison and Sykes.
Byrne leads the title chase 190-122 ahead of Crutchlow with Camier third on 107 points, while in the Daily Star Cup Buildbase NW200 Ducati rider John Laverty with a victory, and then a second place adrift of the Quay Garage Honda of Gary Mason extended his advantage to 171-87 ahead of Martin Jessopp.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship – round four
Race one result:
1. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) 32:01.058
2. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) +2.473
3. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +3.442
4. James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +5.856
5. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) +6.188
6. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) +6.636
7. Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing) +7.464
8. Michael Rutter (NW 200 Ducati) +9.809
9. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +12.627
10. Simon Andrews (Jentin Racing/Lloyds British Yamaha) +16.244
Race two result:1. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) 31:06.337
2. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) +0.355s
3. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) +1.447s
4. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) +1.596s
5. James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +4.186s
6. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +7.446s
7. Karl Harris (Team Rob Mac Racing Yamaha) +15.707s
8. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) +26.794s
9. Simon Andrews (Lloyds Bitish Jentin Racing) +31.816s
10. Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda) +32.870s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:1. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) 190
2. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) 122
3. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) 107
4. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) 96
5. James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) 88
Next round – Snetterton, 13th-15th June
