Shane 'Shakey' Byrne kicked off the Showdown six deciding weekend at Silverstone by topping the opening MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship free practice session, knocking Christian Iddon from the top in the final 20 minutes of the session.

The weekend got underway in wet conditions and Tyco BMW’s Iddon was soon leading the times as he bids for a top six position this weekend ahead of the Showdown. As the session continued, Byrne was completing his next run of laps and he went to the top of the times, 1.181s ahead of Iddon to hold off the opposition until the finish.

Josh Brookes was third fastest for the Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha team; the Australian currently fifth in the championship and is determined to stay inside the top six; he held off Dan Linfoot and James Ellison who completed the top five.

Leon Haslam was the leading JG Speedfit Kawasaki in sixth place ahead of John Hopkins, who split the team-mates with Luke Mossey in eighth position. James Westmoreland and Jake Dixon completed the top ten, pushing Jason O'Halloran into eleventh place. The final Showdown six contender Peter Hickman was 19th.