Shane 'Shakey' Byrne fired in a second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race win in the second race of the day at Brands Hatch despite coming under pressure from Milwaukee Yamaha's Josh Brookes in the closing laps of the race.

Byrne had led the pack on the opening lap from his Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki team-mate Stuart Easton and the Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki pairing of James Ellison and Chris Walker but Brookes was fighting his way through the pack from his fourth row start

Ellison was pushing to get ahead of his team-mate and he made a move on Walker into Paddock Hill Bend for the ninth time to move ahead and then close in on Easton. He moved to second to split the Rapid Solicitors Kawasakis at Graham Hill Bend a few laps later, the pair jostled for the position but then Ellison had his sights set on closing in on race leader Byrne.

Brookes meanwhile had been carving his way up the order and held onto fourth place by lap 18 and after a battle with Ryuichi Kiyonari on the Buildbase BMW the Australian was then hard charging as he bid to secure his first podium finish for Milwaukee Yamaha.

Brookes moved to third with a determined move on Easton at Clearways and then the leading trio of Byrne, Ellison and Brookes were left to battle over the closing laps for the podium finishes. Brookes was shadowing Ellison and then dived up the inside at Druids and despite the Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki rider pushing to reclaim the position he had to settle for third.

Byrne was holding the lead but Brookes had him in his sights and over the final three laps he was pushing to close the minimal gap in a bid to mug the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki of the victory, but it wasn't enough and the Australian held second place.

Byrne said:

"In terms of the races everything has been perfect this weekend. The second race was pretty tough and the lap times weren't as fast but I had a strategy where I wanted to get away as I knew Josh would come through like I had done in the first race as we have been similar on lap times all weekend. I figured I needed to get out the front and see what we could do but the lap timer on my bike packed up, not making excuses, but it showed me the same lap time for six or seven laps and I thought there is no way I am that consistent! I hadn't realised they were reeling me back in and I was thinking 'this isn't in the script, this isn't my plan' but Josh held second and I tried to not make any mistakes. Fortunately it panned out and fingers crossed we can take it to them again at Oulton Park."

Kiyonari finished the race in fourth position after being a part of the early scrap for the podium as he pushed ahead of Walker who in turn held off Easton for fifth position. James Westmoreland was the second Buildbase BMW rider in the top ten in seventh ahead of Dan Linfoot on the sole Quattro Plant Kawasaki. Tommy Bridewell and Ben Wilson completed the top ten ahead of the next races of the season at Oulton Park over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, race two result:

Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki)
Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.138s
James Ellison (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +1.785s
Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +3.694s
Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +5.376s
Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +5.724s
James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +10.826s
Dan Linfoot (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +11.488s
Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) +11.678s
Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) +11.908s

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Brands Hatch:

Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 50
James Ellison (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) 32
Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) 31
Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 20
Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 20
Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) 19
Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) 16
John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki) 16
James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) 15
Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) 13

For the full race result please click here

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