British fans celebrated a double win for the home hero at Snetterton as Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne continued his bid for a record-breaking fourth title in style at the Norfolk circuit, whilst his rival Josh Brookes crashed out of contention in the second race.
The Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider held off Brookes in the first race of the day and again came under pressure from the Milwaukee Yamaha rider in race two, but he spectacularly crashed out of contention as Byrne claimed the win to lead a top ten featuring six different nationalities.
Byrne said: “I really enjoyed that race, especially as we did the double! I spoke with my crew chief before the start and he gave me a target of lap time for the race and if we could maintain that then you should be fairly safe. I got a good start and then got straight down to it and I thought I needed to push on hard and then if anyone is going to pass they need to work hard for it. Josh made a few passes and a few mistakes too and I was able to sneak straight back passed and I got my head down and a gap appeared and I thought ‘I will take that’. There are a few improvements still to make ready for Knockhill but I am looking forward to it.”
The Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki team continued their podium-finishing record with James Ellison finishing third in the first race, but coming back stronger in a race two duel with Bridewell to snatch second place on the final lap.
Ellison said: “I have finished third place five times in a row so second place feels like a win for me today. For a new team and a new bike we have had a great start and I was trying my hardest and dug deep and we got a second place. Some of that was down to Josh’s mishap but we don’t know what would have happened as the four of us were battling it out. That is probably one of the best and most enjoyable races I have had in a while. I tried a couple of times to pass Tommy in a couple of places and then it worked. I am happy and we want to step the level up now to bring it to Shakey.”
The third place finish for Bridewell marked his best performance of the season as he scored his first podium finish of 2014 for Milwaukee Yamaha.
Bridewell said: “It’s great to be back on the podium as the start of the season hadn’t really completely gone to plan at the first tracks we have been to. We have worked hard to get comfortable with the bike and this weekend I have risked it to get the results and it paid off. Shakey and James (Ellison) had the legs on me in the second race but it was nice to pressure Josh and I feel that we have made some headway.”
Ryuichi Kiyonari, the three times title winner, completed a solid day on the Buildbase BMW with fifth and then fourth place finishes whilst Honda Racing marked their return with a fifth place in race two for Julien da Cost following a crash on the opening lap of race one.
Brookes said: “It has been a mixed day. I feel like I lost my first race when James came passed me; we had the safety car and once we started the race again Shane got the gap. I then had to get by James and I then pulled a gap but I just didn’t have enough to close and pass for the win. I pushed as hard as I could throughout the race and I made a mistake on the last lap, so I was lucky to hold on to second.
“The crash in race two had me winded for a while but I am ok. I just tried to close the gap to Shakey on the exit of the corner and I just gave it too much gas; unfortunately giving it more throttle wasn’t the answer. I was riding so hard for the results and we will just have to keep trying to see if we can get the better of them next time out.”
Mitchell Carr missed today’s 16-lap races after an incident in yesterday’s qualifying session. The former Australian supersport champion, returning from a broken hand sustained last time out at Oulton Park, was nudged by another rider at the start of the first shootout session and was ruled out with a nasty shoulder injury that is due to be fully assessed by a specialist this week.
Byrne said: “I really enjoyed that race, especially as we did the double! I spoke with my crew chief before the start and he gave me a target of lap time for the race and if we could maintain that then you should be fairly safe. I got a good start and then got straight down to it and I thought I needed to push on hard and then if anyone is going to pass they need to work hard for it. Josh made a few passes and a few mistakes too and I was able to sneak straight back passed and I got my head down and a gap appeared and I thought ‘I will take that’. There are a few improvements still to make ready for Knockhill but I am looking forward to it.”
British Supersport
Graeme Gowland fired a double warning to his series leading Smiths Triumph team-mate Billy McConnell that he means business in the chase for the Motorpoint British Supersport title.
Gowland followed up his victory in the Saturday Sprint race with a flawless performance in the feature race, leading throughout and stretching his advantage over McConnell to three seconds after 15 hard laps.
The drama began even before the start with former champion Alastair Seeley sliding off his MarTrain Yamaha going through Nelson on the warm-up lap. From the start, Gowland charged clear with McConnell in tow but Luke Jones was warming to the challenge and he was running second on the third lap.
McConnell fought back but Jones was matching him in a tight duel with Luke Mossey, the local favourite joining the fun in fourth place ahead of Luke Stapleford and Glenn Irwin. But by two thirds distance McConnell was back in second place unable to make any inroads into the lead held by Gowland.
Mossey took third place ahead of Stapleford after Jones had crashed out on the final lap at Oggies.
Gowland said:”Brilliant – the first win took ages to come, but now it is two in one. It was hard work and needed lots of concentration all of the way through, but thanks to the team for this – they have stuck by me.”
Alex Olsen won the Supersport Evo class with Sprint race winner David Allingham tipping off in the closing stages.
Billy McConnell: “Graeme’s been on fire this weekend but I’m pleased for him and need to ask him what he had for his breakfast so I can have the same next time out! That’s four wins on the bounce now for the team and shows what a fantastic package the Smiths Triumph is. The team have worked incredibly hard to put us in this position and although I’d have loved to have taken another win, I got the next best thing. I could have pushed a bit more in Saturday’s race but I’d rather have a podium than go down although I made a couple of mistakes in the final two laps and that allowed the two boys to get right on my back wheel. I’m happy with the results though and full credit to the guys.”
Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship race
Kyle Ryde snatched a last lap victory in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship race, overcoming series leading Andy Reid in a slip-streaming dice down the Bentley Straight on the final lap. Consolation for Reid, riding FFX Yamaha, was that he stretched his lead in the title stakes to 22 points ahead of James Lodge who crashed out of contention midway through the race. Ryde, aboard the Pacedayz Trackdays Yamaha, with his maiden victory in the series a moved into third place in the standings, a further four points down, and he enthused: “that was a good race – the plan was to make a good start and then try to break them but Andy came back at me. I just stayed with him and saw that he was wearing his tyres, then took the chance when it came to get the win.”
Levi Day – “Great battle today in the race, ended up 8th after running 4th and 5th for most of it. On the last lap I tried a move which didn’t work out, running myself and another rider wide. This let a few riders through, but had to have a go!! Eight of us went under the previous lap record so I’m really happy to have been on the pace and made up some good points back in the championship! Really happy with a solid ride and can’t thank my team enough for all their hard work and giving me such a great bike!
Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship race
Hudson Kennaugh ended Danny Buchan’s winning spree in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship with a determined ride in the six lap dash of this re-run third round after an earlier stoppage. The South African repeated his victory of last season in the corresponding round as he beat Buchan by 0.890secs with Filip Backlund completing the podium finishers.
Motul British Motostar Championship race
Joe Irving took his second victory of the season aboard the Redline KTM Moto3 bike finishing a tenth of a second ahead of 125GP class winner FAB Racing’s Bradley Ray. Jordan Weaving aboard the Burkert KTM and Honda riding Ernst Dubbink crossing the line fourth and fifth completed the Moto3 podium with Edward Rendell, on the Banks Honda, and Taz Taylor on the Lutyens FPW completed the top three 125GP finishers.
TriStar R&G Triple Challenge race
Scott Pitchers added the victory in the Sunday race to the one had scored on Saturday to consolidate his third place in the standings after a dramatic incident packed race. Phil Atkinson crashed out of second place on the sixth lap and then the race leading Jesse Jones crashed two laps later. Pitchers took the victory ahead of Freddy Pett who regained top spot in the title stakes, 16 points up on Atkinson.
Eastern Airways British Sidecar Championship race
Sean Hegarty/James Neave led throughout, completing the Snetterton double and tightening their grip on the crown, 28 points clear of Roger Lovelock/Aki Alto who trailed them in some eight seconds down with Andy Peach/Charlie Richardson third.
Milwaukee Yamaha Report
The Milwaukee Yamaha team celebrated a double podium finish at the third round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Snetterton today with Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell scoring a second and third place respectively in Norfolk.
In the opening race of the day Brookes was pushing to close on Shane Byrne on the final lap, with the gap narrowing by some strong lap times from the Milwaukee Yamaha rider. However a mistake put Brookes onto the grass and he was able to rejoin and still claim second place. For Bridewell he pushed hard throughout the weekend and started his day solidly with a fourth place to build on for race two.
The second race again saw Brookes piling on the pressure at the front of the field before a huge high-side on the exit of Montreal left him winded and out of contention. This left Bridewell to fly the flag for the Milwaukee Yamaha team, which he did in style by pushing for second place over the final laps, before ending third to secure his first podium finish of the season.
Brookes said: “It has been a mixed day. I feel like I lost my first race when James came passed me; we had the safety car and once we started the race again Shane got the gap. I then had to get by James and I then pulled a gap but I just didn’t have enough to close and pass for the win. I pushed as hard as I could throughout the race and I made a mistake on the last lap, so I was lucky to hold on to second.
“The crash in race two had me winded for a while but I am ok. I just tried to close the gap to Shakey on the exit of the corner and I just gave it too much gas; unfortunately giving it more throttle wasn’t the answer. I was riding so hard for the results and we will just have to keep trying to see if we can get the better of them next time out.”
Bridewell said: “We have been making steps forward all weekend and I feel that we have been getting closer here. It’s great to be back on the podium as the start of the season hadn’t really completely gone to plan at the first tracks we have been to. We have worked hard to get comfortable with the bike and this weekend I have risked it a bit to get the results and it paid off in race two. Shakey and James (Ellison) had the legs on me in the second race at the end, but it was nice to pressure Josh and I feel that we have made some headway.”
Team owner Shaun Muir concluded: “I am obviously happy that we have had two podium finishes for the Milwaukee Yamaha team and for Tommy who has really grown over this weekend. He really showed his pace and it was a great result for him and his confidence. For Josh he was back on the podium again in race one and then he was trying to claw down Shakey in race two and made a mistake. It was a shame to end his race with a crash but I am sure that both riders will be ready to come out and fight again at Knockhill.”
