The Akrapovic equipped HM Plant Honda team celebrated their six victory of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch as Shane 'Shakey' Byrne secured victory in the second race of the weekend which he followed up with a third place in the final race of the day to secure his position in the end of season Showdown.
| HM Plant Honda |
In the second race of the weekend Shakey was running fourth on the opening lap but moved up the order with a determined ride which saw him pass title rivals Tommy Hill and John Hopkins to secure his fourth win of the season. In the third race Shakey looked set to challenge for a double victory but despite a vibration in the rear tyre he was able to return to the podium in third place. Ryuichi Kiyonari meanwhile had a challenging weekend; scoring twelfth in the second race but put in a strong third race to move up the order from his fourth row start to finish sixth. In the Superstock 1000 Championship Luke Jones was forced to retire from the race with a clutch problem, which prematurely ended a positive weekend with the HM Plant Honda team.
Shakey said: "If anyone had an idea on how tough it had been for us at the start of this weekend then they would know how much the win meant for myself and the HM Plant Honda team. Yesterday we had drama after drama and it was just one of those days but we were on the front row for the third race which was the main thing. Tommy (Hill) and I had a great battle and it was very similar to the first round we had here at Easter. We both stayed up which was the main thing as we were a bit on the edge at times. I was happy to be back on the podium again in the third race for HM Plant Honda and the team worked so hard to turn things around from Saturday through to today. In the final race the bike developed a vibration in the rear towards the end of the race but I desperately wanted another podium finish, but at the same time third was better than a crash. All credit to the HM Plant Honda team for their hard work this weekend and I know we should make some steps forward before the next round at Cadwell Park when the three of us will no doubt be fighting again for those wins.”
| Shakey wins - and a bad day for Champagne fans |
Kiyo said: “This weekend has been disappointing for me as we have worked hard to find the right setting and we made changes between races and after warm up but I wasn’t feeling comfortable, although in the third race it felt better and I could push the front and finish sixth. We had turned off all the electronics in the third race and I just tried to ride the bike, because where the conditions changed from Saturday to Sunday we had less time to make improvements. It has been a frustrating weekend but I think we can come back at Cadwell Park faster to make sure we stay in the top six for the Showdown.”
| Kiyonari: Next up - Cadwell, the Team's home round |
Luke said: “It has been another great weekend for me working with HM Plant Honda and I want to thank the team again for the opportunity. We made steps forward all weekend and I feel that we could have had a strong race finish if it hadn’t been for the issue, but that can happen at any time and now I am looking forward to Cadwell Park.”
Team Manager Havier Beltran concluded: “It has been a fantastic day for Shakey; a win and a third place was what he deserved after fighting so hard all weekend, especially at his home round. We have some more improvements to make overall but we are feeling confident for Cadwell Park which is the team’s home round. We have mixed feelings for Kiyo; his start in the third race was his fastest off the line in two years and he showed signs of the Kiyo we know – the one that can challenge at the front. He showed he still has the potential to win races but we just need to make improvements for Cadwell Park. Luke did another great job this weekend and had it not been for a clutch problem I am sure he would have been made further improvements in the race. He will join us again at Cadwell Park so hopefully it will be third time lucky!”
Performance Parts Ltd, the official UK importer of Akrapovic, are pleased to Sponsor, Support and Supply HM Plant Honda. For more information on the hundreds of Performance Parts we have for your bike please visit www.performanceparts-ltd.com
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