Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne holds the advantage in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings ahead of this weekend’s fifth round at Snetterton (5/6/7 July) and Josh Brookes and Alex Lowes are leading the contenders aiming to topple the defending champion with huge crowds expected to flock to the Norfolk circuit.

Byrne has set the standard in the opening rounds but his rivals are determined to break his winning form of the past three races at the high-speed Snetterton circuit, which is a firm favourite with riders and spectators alike since it was transformed at the start of 2011 following a major redevelopment.

Byrne said:

“We go to every round looking for wins and that is obviously the plan for Snetterton. We are in a better position having done the test last week and as always I will go to the event focused on myself and getting my job done. Snetterton is a circuit that I really like and we should be strong and hopefully we can score some more wins for Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki.”

Brookes is the only rider to have scored points at every round so far, but the Tyco Suzuki rider has yet to celebrate on the top step of the podium in 2013 so the Australian is fired up to become the fourth rider to be victorious this season and build on his second place in the standings.

Brookes said:

“Snetterton has been a good circuit for me in the past and I have had great results there so I hope that pattern can continue! We want to carry our consistent form to Snetterton and work on improving the Tyco Suzuki where we can to bridge the gap and hopefully get the wins.”

Lowes is rallying for his return to the podium after his consecutive run of top three finishes came to an end last time out at Knockhill dropping him to third in the overall standings. The Snetterton circuit has traditionally been one of the strongest rounds on the calendar for the Samsung Honda team and they are hoping to maintain that momentum.

Lowes said:

“The Samsung Honda guys have been working hard and we had a positive test at Snetterton which means we are ready to go for the race. I made a mistake at Knockhill but we got a fourth place and if that is classed as a bad weekend I will take that, because Knockhill has always been my bogey circuit. I feel good and hopefully we can fight for the wins as I want to stop Shakey!”


Ryuichi Kiyonari is the rider who has scored the most wins in Norfolk and the triple champion will be pushing to add to his podium tally after a brace of thirds at Knockhill and Milwaukee Yamaha’s James Ellison will be fighting to make amends after a disappointing last round. Czech Jakub Smrz could also prove a threat after topping the times at the official test last week for Padgetts Honda.

The push to be in the Showdown six continues at Snetterton as Jon Kirkham and Chris Walker bid to maintain fifth and sixth respectively in the standings, with five different manufacturers currently represented. However the chasing pack of Kiyonari, James Westmoreland, Keith Farmer and PJ Jacobsen are aiming for performances that make them the ninth different rider to feature inside the top six so far this season ahead of the Main Season conclusion at Donington Park in September.


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