The Penrith-based Be Wiser Ducati Racing Team enjoyed an excellent day’s racing at Brands Hatch today with Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne taking a brilliant double race victory in round seven of the MCEBritish Superbike Championship.

The four-times MCE BSB champion earned his race wins the hard way after qualifying in second place despite a technical problem in Datatag Qualifying yesterday but was confident going into the two races in glorious weather conditions at his local track.

However, a sluggish start to the opening 20-lap race around the 2.43-mile Grand Prix circuit saw the Sittingbourne rider fail to capitalise on his front row position, completing the first lap back in fifth place. There he remained for the first half of the race and following a safety car period, that allowed him to close back up to the leading group of riders.

Once there, he was able to fully utilise his pace on the factory-backed Ducati Panigale R and on lap eleven he moved up to third place. With a quarter of the race remaining, he overtook Tommy Bridewell to take the lead for the first time and he was never headed again, coming home for his 14th career MCE BSB win at the Brands Hatch GP circuit.

Lining up in second place for the second race, Shakey again made a slow start and was back in ninth after the first lap and with more work to do than earlier in the day, particularly when he dropped back to 11th on lap five. From that moment on, though, he steadily moved forward and with six laps to go, he moved into third.

Another safety car period saw two laps added onto the race and on lap 19, Shakey hit the front for the first time, overtaking Leon Haslam at Druids. And with just three laps remaining, the 39-year-old wasn’t about to make any mistakes and he duly crossed the line to take his 74th career MCE BSB win and with it, his first double of the season to total 17 in his career. More importantly, he added 10 Podium Points to his tally and extended his lead in the overall title race to 25 points.

Byrne also won the coveted Monster King of Brands Trophy for his double victory.


Team-mate Glenn Irwin was also well placed for two good results and that looked like it would happen when he ran in sixth place, just behind Byrne, in the early stages of race one. However, his race came to an early end just after half race distance when he crashed out at Graham Hill Bend, fortunately without injury.

With a third row start for the second race, a strong start saw the Carrickfergus rider slot into seventh place but he rapidly began to advance forward, so much so that by lap seven he was up into second place and challenging for the lead. Leon Haslam pushed him back to third four laps later and he then dropped back to fourth when Byrne overhauled him. The leading pack spread out after the safety car period but Glenn brought the Be Wiser Ducati home in an excellent fourth place to consolidate his outside claims for a Showdown place.

Shane Byrne: 

“I completely fluffed the start in the first race and it gave me plenty of work to do. It was my fault and it made me change my race strategy slightly but after the safety car period, I was lying in fourth and set about the three riders in front of me. I had a good rhythm and grabbed the lead with a few laps to go so concentrated on hitting all my apexes to get the job done. It was a similar story in race two in terms of my start but I felt that if I could stay calm, there was still plenty of time for me to fight my way through. After the safety car went in, I decided to make my move straightaway, thinking there was only a couple of laps left so it threw me a bit when my pit board said there were still four laps to go! I thought I may have showed my hand too early but it all worked out well. We didn’t quite hit the nail on the head this weekend so to come away with a double shows just how far we’ve come and a massive thank you to everyone in the team for all their work, a double victory is an excellent feeling.”


Glenn Irwin: 

“I’ve had strong pace all weekend but with the track temperature going up a bit, I didn’t quite have the feeling I wanted in race one and instead of easing my pace a bit and bringing the bike home for a finish, I made a mistake and crashed out. The team did a great job in getting the bike ready for race two and it feels really good to come back in with a good result. I thought I might lead at one stage but after the safety car the other riders had a bit more grip and I couldn’t go with them. It’s another strong result and to be battling with the likes of Shakey, Leon and Jason is a real honour.”

Phil Borley, Technical Director: 

“It’s been a fantastic weekend. Shakey’s been on top form all weekend with excellent pace in both a single lap and over race distance. He kept his cool and looked after his tyres in both races after not making the greatest of starts so to go into Cadwell Park with a double victory is an excellent feeling. Glenn was obviously disappointed to have crashed out in the first race after making a small mistake but he turned it around in fine style to take an excellent fourth place. He too was strong all weekend and he deserved that finish so it’s been a good day for everyone in the Be Wiser Ducati team.”

MCE British Superbike Championship race one (20 laps)
1 Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)
2 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
3 Luke Mossey (Kawasaki)
4 Jason O’Halloran (Honda)
5 Lee Jackson (BMW)
6 Broc Parkes (Yamaha)
DNF Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)

MCE British Superbike Championship race two (22 laps)
1 Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)
2 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
3 Jason O’Halloran (Honda)
4 Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati)
5 Richard Cooper (BMW)
6 Lee Jackson (BMW)

Championship Standings (after seven rounds)
1 Byrne 231pts
2 Haslam 206
3 O’Halloran 175
4 Laverty 137
5 Linfoot 135
6 Cooper 125
12 Irwin 68




Images courtesy of Jon Jessop: Shane Byrne with the Monster King of Brands Trophy, and #2 Glenn Irwin.