The battle of the MCE BSB titans: Shakey versus Haslam for 2016 title at Brands Hatch
The MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship goes down to the wire on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit this weekend (14/15/16 October) in an explosive triple-header event as Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and Leon Haslam prepare for the final battle in their quest to be crowned 2016 champion.
Four-time champion Byrne is bidding to add to his record-breaking tally and the Kent contender arrives at his home round with a marginal 17 point advantage in the standings ahead of this weekend’s three races. The Be Wiser Ducati rider was victorious on the Grand Prix circuit earlier in the season and knows that he needs to keep Haslam behind him in the three races.
Haslam though arrives at Brands Hatch carrying the winning momentum; the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider has won six of the last eight races and is determined to beat Byrne on home turf after losing out to his arch rival at his home round of Donington Park. ‘The Pocket Rocket’ has yet to lift a MCE BSB title, but is feeling confident of taking the fight all the way to the finish at the Kent circuit.
Byrne and Haslam were inseparable at Assen last time out, but they also face the mounting opposition from their fellow Showdown contenders as they bid to claim third place in the standings with Dan Linfoot, James Ellison and Jason O’Halloran all separated by just ten points. The trio clashed at Assen in their bid to claim third overall and the three races at Brands Hatch are set to be equally as intense.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings:
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 633
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 616
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) 566
James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 560
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) 556
Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) 534
The triple-header decider features three MCE BSB races (first on Saturday and two on Sunday) in addition to the support class races. Spectators can also meet the on track stars with a free of charge pit walk on Sunday. Don’t also miss the chance to join in the celebrations after the final race of the weekend as Brands Hatch hosts the 2016 MCE BSB season finale.
For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)
Championship leader
“I am looking forward to Brands Hatch and I think it is very important to treat this final round like any other of the season. We need to keep focusing on doing the best job we can with whatever the weekend brings. You can’t second guess what will happen in this championship because anything can happen as it is so competitive and the final round always means some riders put more on the line to end the season. They don’t care about the outcome of the championship so we need to be ready for that.
“I have been in this situation of fighting for the title at the final round probably five or six times now and the reality for Leon is that he needs to win races and he needs to beat me in all three. I have to counter how he approaches the weekend too but the way I am going to do that is to go for all three wins as I would at any other round.
“I am not turning up to finish second. We want to get to the front and stay there and if it comes to a straight fight between myself and Leon, I will go for that win. Yes I have an advantage in the points now, but I am going to Brands Hatch to win one, two or even three races as I don’t like finishing second!”
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
Second in the standings
“I feel ready for this weekend. We would obviously prefer to be ahead but we go into the Brands Hatch weekend knowing what we need to do. It is very simple for me; I have to go out and win the races and beat Shakey in all three. He has everything to lose and needs to think more about the positions than I do.
“I don’t think there is a one up for him or me on the Grand Prix circuit; everyone knows it is his home track but Donington was mine and he beat me there so now I want to do the same to him at his! I think we can achieve what we need to this weekend and that is three wins. There is always added pressure on Shakey for the home round, where we just want to keep up the momentum we showed at Assen.
“We have won six of the last eight races and that is a statistic I like; we want to end this weekend adding to that tally to make it at least nine but hopefully eleven!”