- Shakey gets his title defence off to a great start
- Glenn Irwin Free Practice crash fails to stop him racing
- Taylor Mackenzie completes his first round for the Moto Rapido Ducati team
Race 1
Defending British Superbike Champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) provided a thrilling end to the opening race at Donington Park this afternoon.
A poor start saw Shakey wheelie off the line as lights wents out, dropping back from 3rd to 8th in the process. But he climbed back up through the field and on the last lap had closed right up to the leaders Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) and James Ellison (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha). At the Melbourne Hairpin Shakey passed Ellison to take 2nd place. Although unable to stop Ray claiming his first ever Superbike win, Shakey still was able to open up his points account with 20 Championship and 3 valuable Podium points, finishing just 0.383s behind the winner.
Teammate Glenn Irwin, who crashed out of Free Practice 1 yesterday, lined up in 10th and fought his way to a 6th place finish.
In his first race on-board the Ducati Panigale R, Taylor Mackenzie (Moto Rapido Ducati) passed the chequered flag to claim the last championship point in 15th.
Race 2
Both Byrne and Irwin lined up on the front row and at the completion of the opening lap, six-times and defending champion Byrne occupied fourth place with Irwin one place further back in fifth. Two laps later and the duo had slipped back to fifth and sixth respectively and although the circuit had a dry line, straying off line had major repercussions, which is what happened to Irwin at half race distance when he ran wide at Redgate and dropped down to 11th.
As the race progressed, Shakey battled hard to try to claim fourth but had to settle for fifth position in the end as Irwin fought back by overhauling four riders to clinch seventh at the flag, just missing out on another top six placing. The results mean that after the opening round, Byrne occupies second place in the standings behind double winner Bradley Ray whilst Irwin is in the all-important top six going into the next round at Brands Hatch in two weeks’ time.
Taylor Mackenzie improved on his 18th place starting position to finish just outside the points in 16th, gaining valuable experience during his first round for the Moto Rapido Ducati team in the process.
Shakey now sits 2nd in the championship table with 20 points, Irwin is 6th with 10 points and Mackenzie 15th with 1 point.
Shakey Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati #67) Race 1 – 2nd, Race 2 – 5th
“Ever the optimist, I was happy to be on the grid because this time last year I wasn’t even here… I wanted to go one better than what I did yesterday, but I also had it in my head that the last two rookies to win, went on to do a double although I was mindful of not thinking about that too much! As it turned out, that’s what happened so massive congratulations to Brad, his commitment in the damp conditions on the opening laps was something else. I made a few mistakes during the race and as soon as you were off line, it was very tricky. You can’t win the championship at the first round, but you can lose it and to end the weekend second overall with some good points isn’t a bad place to be in.”
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati #2) Race 1 – 6th, Race 2 – 7th
“My aim this weekend was to get some podium credits and although I didn’t manage to do that, I’m pleased with how I rode and to end the weekend in the top six overall. Today’s race was tough as firstly James Ellison crashed in front me, which lost me a bit of time, and then I went straight on at Redgate. I stayed on track – just – and got passed by a lot of riders meaning I had to get past them again once more, only losing out on sixth place in a photo finish. The conditions haven’t suited me this weekend so I’m happy with the points I’ve taken and with sixth place overall in the early season table.”
Taylor Mackenzie (Moto Rapido Ducati #24) Race 1 – 15th, Race 2 – 16th
“My goal coming into the weekend was to try and grab a point. Just because, I’ve had so little time on the bike and the team haven’t really had much time with me. It was always going to be a tough weekend. [In Race 2] I didn’t ride good enough at the start. But we’re through it in one piece and onto the next one. Once I’ve got a few more laps, that’s been the main thing I’ve struggled with so far, we didn’t have any dry track time really here. At Brands Indy we’ll have no shortage of laps going round and round and round. So, it’ll be good there.”
