From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

BYRNE AIMING TO CLOSE IN ON TITLE

After dominating the first half of the season, MonsterMob Ducati’s Shane Byrne is eager to get back to winning ways when round eight of the British Superbike Championship travels across the Irish Sea to Mondello Park this weekend.

‘Shakey’ won nine of the opening eleven races but has managed a just a trio of second places since although his title challenge remains well on course having increased his lead further in the last round at Rockingham to a massive 144 points.

The Minster, Isle of Sheppey rider only needs to finish fifth in all remaining ten races to clinch his first major title and considering his worst result to date is second, it shouldn’t be too hard a task but the 26 year old has his sights set on wrapping things up as soon as possible.

“I hate finishing second so it’s a case of getting back to winning again this weekend. I know that safe points are all I need in every race but it would be good to beat the record of 13 wins in a season. If I could do that I’d be champion but I’m not silly enough to throw things away. But there is no doubt, I want to win again this weekend and increase the advantage past the magical 150 points bracket. Mondello is a new track for us all so it should be interesting” said Byrne.

If Byrne does his fourth double of the season as he is hoping, it means he would need just two more wins to be sure of the title and those could come at the following round at the team’s local track, Oulton Park.

Teammate Stuart Easton is also hoping for success at the Co. Kildare circuit where he arrives 60 points adrift of British Supersport Championship leader Karl Harris (Honda). The Hawick teenager celebrates his birthday this weekend and is hoping for the best present of the lot in the form of 25 points.

“I’ve said it for a few races now but I really do need to win this weekend and hope that Karl drops some points so I can close the gap on him. I’ve had a look at the track and I think it will suit the Ducati so there should be no excuses” said the defending champion.

Team owner Paul Bird makes a welcome return to Ireland, having won the Irish Supermoto Championship three times in the late nineties and the superstitious Cumbrian is hoping that his team will have the luck of the Irish this weekend.

“I’ll not be doing anything different with regards to how I used to prepare when I raced over there, that’s for sure! If Shakey can do the business, then I’ll quite happily absorb the pressure that will be on us at the following round but there are a lot of laps to be done before then. Stuart needs to get his finger out and put the Ducati on top of the box as the Supersport trophy cabinet is looking a bit depleted but if we can have a successful weekend, we may just sample some of the black stuff afterwards” he continued.


More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

BSB Round 8, Mondello Park, Eire
18-20 July
Circuit length: 2.268 miles

Hawk Kawasaki hope for the luck of the Irish at Mondello

The British Superbike Championship heads to Ireland this weekend for its first ever non-UK round, at Mondello Park. Record crowds are expected at the tight and technical track, which has played host to British Touring Car Championship rounds for a number of years, when the locals get their first taste of British Superbike action.

Despite never having ridden the 2.268 mile track before, Hawk Kawasaki’s riding trio of Glen Richards, Scott Smart and Lee Jackson are all fired-up for the challenge ahead. ‘I’m really looking forward to this weekend,’ said Richards. ‘I’m not quite sure what to expect, but I’ve been told that it’s a tight, twisty and fairly bumpy track and that should suit the Hawk Kawasaki well. We went well at Thruxton, which is also pretty bumpy, so fingers crossed we can do the same again here.’

Scott Smart, who rode superbly to match his season’s best result of sixth at Rockingham two weeks ago, is equally keen to get round eight of the series underway: ‘I quite like learning tracks because I’ve had to do it throughout my career, so it tends to play into my favour,’ he explained. ‘It’s also quite tight and bumpy, so the advantage of the 1000s won’t be so acute over our 750cc Kawasakis. I’m aiming to build upon the results I achieved at Rockingham, because the bike’s getting better for me at each round. We’ve got to really work on the chassis set-up though, because when you haven’t got so much horsepower you need the chassis set up perfectly.’

Lee Jackson is also in confident mood now that his least favourite track, Rockingham, is behind him. ‘I just want to get out on my pushbike and learn the track as soon as I can,’ said the 26 year-old. ‘The Irish often come over to our championship, so it’ll be good for us to go over there and have a bit of a go in their back yard. I honestly don’t know what to expect of the track because I’ve only seen it on TV before, but I’ll give it my best no matter what.’

BSB Riders’ Championship, after 7 rounds
1) Shane Byrne: 325
2) Michael Rutter: 181
3) John Reynolds: 167
4) Yukio Kagayama: 153
5) Steve Plater: 146
6) Glen Richards: 141
7)
Gary Mason: 126
8) Steve Hislop: 122
9) Scott Smart: 89
10) Sean Emmett: 88
11) John Crawford: 74
12) Lee Jackson: 62
13) Paul Young:
58
14) Mark Heckles: 47
15) John McGuinness: 26
16) Dean Ellison: 25
17) Jon Kirkham: 25
18) Paul Jones: 22
19) Nick Medd: 19
20) Leon Haslam: 15

BSB Premier Team Championship, after 7 rounds
1) Monstermob/ETI Ducati: 1101
2) Virgin Mobile Yamaha: 1031
3) Renegade Ducati: 1022
4) Rizla Suzuki: 1015
5) Hawk Kawasaki: 991
6) TDB Recruit/Appleyard Yamaha: 805
7) Hawk Kawasaki/TDC Suzuki: 790
8) Honda Racing: 775
9) D&B/Renegade Ducati: 634