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British Superbikes Round 10 TT Circuit Assen 19th-21st September 2014

TT Circuit Assen

Byrne pulls last corner move on Kiyo to win by 0.152s at Assen

Shane 'Shakey' Byrne ended his winning drought by snatching victory from the grasp of his 'War for Four' rival Ryuichi Kiyonari with a last corner move in the second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race at Assen.

On the opening lap John Hopkins held the lead initially from Kiyonari and Stuart Easton, but again the drama started early for the Title Fighters as Chris Walker crashed out and the Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki rider limped away.

At the front Kiyonari pushed ahead of Hopkins but Byrne was attacking hard after the disappointment of his race one crash. The Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider was up to second by the fourth lap and then he had Kiyonari firmly in his sights.

Byrne was shadowing Kiyonari throughout the race and was within striking distance of his rival. As the laps went by Byrne started to show his front wheel, making attempts at passes but it wasn't until the final lap that he executed his move.

"I'm over the moon, it has been a long time since I won a race though it was almost cruel to take it like that," said Byrne. "I had looked at a way past Kiyo but it was going to be a bit of a gamble though on the last lap we were really close.

"My speed through the previous corner was a bit faster than his, and then I was along the side of his bike. I thought my bike had better stay gripped, or I am going to launch myself to the moon with another crash. Luckily for me it held and I took the win in that one, making up for that first race when I threw it up the road."

Byrne made a decisive move into the final chicane and Kiyonari couldn't out drag his rival to the line. As the pair battled for the win they had been coming under the increasing threat of Milwaukee Yamaha's Tommy Bridewell who had climbed the order and was waiting in the wings over the closing laps. He claimed a podium finish to move to within five points of team-mate Josh Brookes who was forced to retire with a technical problem after languishing in 25th.

Dan Linfoot narrowly missed out on the podium for the Quattro Plant Kawasaki team in fourth place ahead of Hopkins and Stuart Easton. James Ellison returned to the top ten in seventh place ahead of race one winner Josh Waters. Filip Backlund scored FFX Yamaha's best result to date in ninth place and James Westmoreland completed the top ten.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Assen, race two result:

  1. Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki)
  2. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +0.152s
  3. Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.460s
  4. Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +4.170s
  5. John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki) +8.759s
  6. Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +12.203s
  7. James Ellison (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +17.729s
  8. Josh Waters (Tyco Suzuki) +30.241s
  9. Filip Backlund (FFX Yamaha) +32.308s
  10. James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +33.060s

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Assen race two:

  1. Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 587
  2. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) 575
  3. Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 536
  4. Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) 531
  5. Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) 524
  6. Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) 505

Shakey reflects on qualifying crash and vows to strike back

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship leader Shane 'Shakey' Byrne has vowed to battle back from his fourth row start in tomorrow's opening race at Assen after crashing out of the second qualifying session.

Byrne had been building momentum throughout the weekend and had been closing in on his 'War for Four' rival Ryuichi Kiyonari in the sessions. The triple title-winner was holding twelfth place on the timesheets, but dramatically as he made his way back to the pitlane he crashed out of the session, forcing him to watch the remainder from the sidelines. However a determined Byrne admits that his goal tomorrow remains the same - to return to winning ways in his quest for the title.

American attack as Hopkins hammers in first pole position of 2014

Byrne said: "It obviously isn't ideal. The Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki team have done a great job so far this weekend and we have been improving all the time and in the dry it is down to a tenth between Kiyo and myself. Hopefully it will make for some really close racing between us tomorrow, the only thing nobody can control is the weather and if it is wet or dry but wither way we need to take it to them.

"To fall down when I did was a strange crash because I saw Hickman fall down and I thought 'ah Peter you don't want to be going down there, that's not cool' and as I rolled in there, I wasn't even trying. I was done and on an in lap and I just chopped the throttle shut as I went into the left and my bike did exactly the same and flicked me over the top and gave me a bit of a smack so not an ideal scenario but we will be back tomorrow as that is another day."

Datatag Extreme Qualifying from Assen

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