Front Row Start for Byrne 2007 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Rounds 3 & 4 Thruxton, Hampshire Sunday 15th April 2007 Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport rider Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne put in a tremendous lap of 1m14.644s at a hot and sunny Thruxton today and as a result will start tomorrow’s two rounds of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship from the front row of the grid. The 30 year old Londoner posted third fastest time on the VK backed Honda Fireblade 1000cc having held pole position for much of the fifty minute session at the Hampshire circuit. Team mate Tom Sykes also produced a great performance to post a lap of 1m14.796s meaning he will start tomorrow’s two 22-lappers from fifth position on the grid as he goes in search of more points also. Shane Byrne: “Since Friday morning the team has worked really hard and we’ve just got better and better. There was a lot of work to do and the boys have come up trumps and we’re now in good shape for the races. It was disappointing to drop off pole but last week we were seventh and now we’re third, so I’m well happy.” Tom Sykes: “I’m reasonably happy but on the qualifying lap I made a mistake and that definitely cost me a front row start but its just one of those things. We’ve got a good race set up and a second row start which is good enough to win the race, so I’m hoping for a good start and some good consistent results tomorrow. “ Paul Bird: “Great qualifying from both riders, especially Tom as it’s only his second meeting on the bike and his second meeting on Dunlop tyres so it’s a good start to the weekend, and Shakey was fantastic also. They’ve both got a good race set up and hopefully they can carry the momentum forward to tomorrow and be challenging for rostrums and possible race wins.” The first 22-lap race gets underway at 13.00 followed by the second one at 15.30 which is live on ITV1. Qualifying: 1, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 1m14.433s, 2, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 1m14.488s, 3, Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 1m14.644s, 4, Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1m14.762s, 5, Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 1m14.796s, 6, Leon Camier (Honda) 1m14.938s, 7, Chris Walker (Suzuki) 1m14.972s, 8, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 1m15.097s, 9, Cal Crutchlow (Suzuki) 1m15.164s, 10, Leon Haslam (Ducati) 1m15.236s. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Rizla Suzuki racer Chris Walker will start from seventh on the second row and his team mate Cal Crutchlow from ninth on the third row in tomorrow’s second round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton in Hampshire. In a super-close qualifying session where the top 12 riders finished within a second of each other, ‘Stalker’ was just over half a second away from Yamaha’s Tommy Hill who took pole position. Crutchlow will head up the third row and is in an optimistic mood as he thinks there is lot more to come when the race starts and he can follow the riders in front. He is particularly pleased with the performance of his Rizla Suzuki after his on-board telemetry recorded 201mph on the straight. Superbike racing starts at 1300 on Sunday at Rizla Suzuki’s home 2.35-mile long Thruxton circuit in Hampshire. Chris Walker: “I am happy with our progress over the course of the weekend. Each session we have taken around four-tenths-of-a-second off our lap times and if I can achieve that tomorrow morning in warm-up then I’ll be pretty close in the races. “We’ve done a good job in qualification and traditionally I have never practiced or qualified well here. For the races I’ll be looking to get with the guys in front and see what I can achieve. With the fantastic warm sunny weather we should be in for a bumper crowd tomorrow and I’ll be counting on the support of the fans.” Cal Crutchlow: “My Rizla Suzuki is working ok this weekend. The only area we are working on is stability over the high-speed bumps, but that is an issue that all bikes have around here. I just hope the weather is a little cooler tomorrow as it will make race tyre selection easier. “Every lap I completed was on my own and I didn’t get a chance to follow any of the other riders. Following fast riders and sitting in the slipstream will settle my bike down and help reduce my lap times. It’s also encouraging that I have a bike that can top 200mph and is one of the fastest at the circuit – that’ll help me to overtake tomorrow.” Simon Buckmaster – Team Manager: “At the moment both Chris and Cal are half a second off the front runners but neither of them has followed any other riders and that is when the lap times tumble at Thruxton. In the races tomorrow they will both be stronger and have very fast GSX-R1000s to help them fight their way forward. “The weather is absolutely glorious and I think it will encourage a record crowd. For Rizla Suzuki, high track temperatures mean more difficult tyre choices, but we have been working closely with Dunlop this weekend and have plenty of options, so we are confident we can put on a strong performance in the races.” Qualifying Times: 1: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 1:14.433 2: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.055 3: Shane Byrne (Honda) +0.211 4: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.329 5: Tom Sykes (Honda) +0.363 6: Leon Camier (Honda) +0.505 7: Chris Walker (Rizla Suzuki) +0.539 8: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.664 9: Cal Crutchlow (Rizla Suzuki) +0.731 10: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +0.803