From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM

Round 3 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS, Thruxton

Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th April 2003

SHAKEY DOUBLES UP AS EASTON COMPLETES HAT-TRICK FOR MONSTERMOB

MonsterMob Ducati’s Shane Byrne stormed to his first ever double victory in the British Superbike Championship at Thruxton this afternoon to take a firm grip on the title chase.

The 26 year old Minster, Kent rider beat defending champion Steve Hislop in the opening encounter before repeating the feat ahead of main championship rival Michael Rutter in race two to leave the Hampshire circuit 41 points to the good at the quarter distance stage.

In race one, ‘Shakey’ took the lead from fellow Ducati rider Rutter on lap three before pulling away from the field to win by 4.8 seconds in the 21 lap race aboard his Ducati F02. Pole setter Byrne’s cause was aided further by Hislop outpacing Rutter on the final lap.

In race two, Byrne took the lead on lap seven and went on to dominate the race once again to take victory, this time by 2.7 seconds from Rutter to complete his first ever double win in his fifth year in the premier class.

A delighted Shakey said afterwards: “I am pleased with that. A massive thanks to Birdy, Phil, my crew chief and everyone in the team. It’s a good weekend for MonsterMob.”

Team mate, Supersport rider Stuart Easton made it three out of three by scoring his first win of the season when he romped to a superb start to finish win on his 748 Ducati.

The 18-year-old Scot made easy work of the 20 lap race, taking the lead on the first lap to win by 10.6 seconds from nearest rival Karl Harris (Honda). Stuart also set a new lap record in the race of 1m17.841s to add to his pole position.

The result moves the Hawick rider up to second place in the Championship.

“That was just a fantastic weekend. We were quickest in practice, got pole and then got the lap record in the race, what more can you do? Hopefully I am starting to prove the doubters wrong who wrote me off at the start of the season. Now I’m up to second in the Championship and hopefully we can build on that” said the Scot.

Team owner Paul Bird was also delighted with his team’s performance. “It doesn’t come any better than that. It’s a gentlemen’s full set. We can now look forward to Oulton Park in two weeks’ time and hopefully continue our success there.”

The next round takes place at Oulton Park on 4/5th May.

Superbike Results

Race One
1. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 26:58.706
2. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 27:03.556
3. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 27:04.489
4. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 27:07.508
5. Steve Plater (Honda) 27:07.633
6. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 27:08.617
7. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 27:10.438
8. Mark Heckles (Honda) 27:20.136
9. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 27:20.260
10. John Crawford (Ducati) 27:21.187

Race Two
1. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 28:11.120
2. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 28:13.855
3. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 28:13.964
4. Steve Plater (Honda) 28:15.185
5. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 28:17.273
6. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 28:22.122
7. Sean Emmett (Ducati) 28:26.053
8. Mark Heckles (Honda) 28:26.480
9. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 28:39.017
10. Dean Ellison (Ducati) 28:39.366

Superbike Championship Standings after Round 3
1: Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 140pts
2: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 99pts
3: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 72pts
4: Gary Mason (Yamaha) 59pts
5: Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 58pts
6: Steve Plater (Honda) 51pts
7: Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 50pts
8: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 40pts
9: John Crawford (Ducati) 39pts
9: Sean Emmett (Ducati) 39pts

Supersport Result
1. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 26:13.654
2. Karl Harris (Honda) 26:24.261
3.John Crockford (Honda) 26:28.923
4. Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 26:29.538
5. Tom Sykes (Yamaha) 26:30.869
6. Adrian Coates (Honda) 26:33.422
7. Rob Frost (Kawasaki) 26:33.745
8. Kieran Murphy (Kawasaki) 26:34.215
9. Tom Tunstall (Yamaha) 26:39.979
10. Shane Norval (Yamaha) 26:40.504

Supersport Championship Standings After Round 3
1: Karl Harris 65pts
2: Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 41pts
3: John Crockford 36pts
4: Adrian Coates 34pts
5: Michael Laverty 33pts
5: Simon Andrews 33pts
7: Rob Frost 25pts
8: Tom Sykes 21pts
9: Craig Jones 16pts
9: Tom Tunstall 16pts