Tensions have been rising at Brands Hatch ahead of the opening MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race of the triple-header weekend as Josh Brookes and Shane 'Shakey' Byrne became embroiled in a war of words during the Datatag Qualifying press conference.

Brookes who qualified third on the grid for the opening race admitted during his live interview on British Eurosport that he was running his Suzuka race helmet in support of Ryuichi Kiyonari, before adding in the press conference that Byrne seems to always have luck on his side.

Brookes said:

"I tried my hardest today and it wasn't enough to go faster but I can't help but wonder what kind of voodoo antics Shakey has going on as he never seems to get a bad string of luck ever. It was devastating to see Kiyo on the floor this morning, so we want to put on a good show and do our best in the races."

Byrne, who starts second on the race one grid, replied:

"I think it has come down to consistency to be honest and I'm really annoyed with that. To be in a position to win the championship you have to be finishing on the podium the whole time and we have had our fair share of bad luck too as I fell down and lost a lead in the championship at Assen for example. I am not so sure there is voodoo going down!

"I have objectives - they were to be on the front row and the second was to win the three races. There are a million variables coming into this weekend and it doesn't matter what you plan, we just have to try and concentrate on the job in hand."



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