Shane 'Shakey' Byrne celebrated a Scottish double at Knockhill, holding off the challenges from his PBM Kawasaki team-mate Stuart Easton and hard-charging Josh Brookes in an 11-lap sprint race ahead of the next round of the season at his home circuit of Brands Hatch.
The race initially got underway with Michael Laverty leaping off the line to lead the pack into the first corner on the opening lap ahead of James Ellison, Easton, Byrne and Brookes. Ellison onboard the JG Speedfit Kawasaki was determined to make amends for his crash in race one and went for a move on Laverty at turn three, but ran wide and onto the grass which he managed to hold upright and rejoin further down the field.
Laverty was still holding his position at the front of the field from Easton and Byrne as they took advantage of Ellison's mistake. However there was disappointment for the second Tyco BMW as Tommy Bridewell crashed out unhurt at turn three on the fifth lap.
By the start of the ninth lap Byrne and Brookes had moved ahead of Easton after he ran wide at the Hairpin to then target Laverty for the lead. However the Scot wasn't prepared to hold station and he made a move again on Brookes at the Hairpin to move back to third on the twelfth lap.
Byrne was trying to force Laverty into making a mistake, which he did at the Hairpin a few laps later, giving the defending champion the lead by the start of the 17th lap. Byrne was holding off Laverty, Easton and Brookes but then the race was red flagged as rain began to fall.
The passing shower was short lived though and after an interlude the race restarted in dry conditions and Byrne was focused on hitting the front and setting the pace. The PBM Kawasaki rider did just that ahead of Easton and Brookes who went on to complete the podium after the 11 lap sprint race.
There was disappointment for Ellison on the restart as he was forced to retire his JG Speedfit Kawasaki, dropping a place in the standings in the process ahead of Brands Hatch. Luke Mossey had put in an impressive performance in his rookie season to be running fourth but the Quattro Plant Kawasaki rider crashed out on the penultimate lap at turn two unhurt.
Mossey's crash elevated Ryuichi Kiyonari to fourth on the Buildbase BMW pushing him inside the top ten in the standings now as he held off Jason O'Halloran on the leading Honda Racing machine who completed the top five.
Laverty had dropped to sixth place in the closing stages of the race for Tyco BMW whilst James Westmoreland, Peter Hickman and Christian Iddon completed the top ten.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, race two result:1.Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki)2.Stuart Easton (PBM Kawasaki) +0.436s3.Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.771s4.Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +4.518s5.Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) +5.064s6.Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +6.134s7.Danny Buchan (Be Wiser Kawasaki) +7.104s8.James Westmoreland (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +7.646s9.Peter Hickman (RAF Reserves BMW) +8.157s10.Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki) +8.395s
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings after Knockhill:1.Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) 2012.Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 1633.Stuart Easton (PBM Kawasaki) 1354.James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 1185.Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) 966.Tommy Bridewell (Tyco BMW) 86
The 2015 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship returns to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on 17/18/19 July. Discounted advance tickets for the 'Big Brands Bash' are available now: adult raceday (Sunday) admission is £26 online, and three-day adult tickets are £34. Camping is just £18 per person, and children under 13 go free. For more information click here.
