Rizla Suzuki’s Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne was fourth fastest during practice at the 10th round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Croft in North Yorkshire today. Croft is Rizla Suzuki’s nominated test track and Byrne started the day with a strong base setting that he refined to suit the dry and windy conditions. He tried both his race bikes and is optimistic for qualifying and practice. Steve Plater, standing in for Rizla Suzuki’s injured rider James Haydon, was 13th in the morning session but ended the day 17th as he continued to acquaint himself with the GSX-R1000. Steve rode for the team for the first time at the previous round and is aiming for two top-10 results this weekend. Honda’s Jonathan Rea was fastest. Shane Byrne: “My fastest lap came quite easily. How did I go faster? I simply didn’t brake as much and set a better time. “I tried both of my race bikes and think we are in a strong position for the weekend. One bike is set up just how I want and handling very well. The other bike has the most amazing brakes. I want the brakes transferred on to my number one bike and then I’ll be flying.” Steve Plater: “It’s a tale of two halves for me at Croft. Generally the first half of the circuit is great and my Rizla Suzuki is handling exceptionally well. “On the second half of the circuit I tip into the fast left-hander at the Dave Clark Esses and I’ve found it needs a bit more work to get it handling just the way I want. Overall though, I am happy to be here and making progress on the Rizla Suzuki.” Niall Mackenzie – Race Operations Manager: “It’s been a steady day for Rizla Suzuki. Shane is about where we would expect him to be and believes he can improve his position tomorrow. I think he’s itching to get practice out of the way so he can concentrate on qualifying and racing. “We are asking a lot of Steve as he learns the bike and circuit. His experience at the previous round is standing him in good stead. We’ll be looking to improve the handling of his bike for him so he can challenge for the front three rows in qualifying tomorrow.” Friday Qualifying: 1: Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1:20.018, 2: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +0.264, 3: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.685, 4: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +1.137, 5: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +1.183, 6: Karl Harris (Honda) +1.439, 7: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +1.507, 8: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +1.628, 9: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +1.663, 10: Craig Coxhell (Kawasaki). 17: Steve Plater (Rizla Suzuki) +2.652.