BSB Snetterton: Shakey demolishes lap record pace on way to pole

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne has taken yet another MCE British Superbike pole position in usual form, setting a lap half way through the final qualifying session to blow away the lap record by over half a second.

Saying afterwards that he had set a personal lap time goal for the session that he was able to match, Byrne finished the session content with his pace.

“I knew at the start of the weekend what I wanted to achieve, and when the time popped up on my dash I thought ‘fair play to anyone who beats that, they deserve pole!’ But as it turned out, no one was able to go any faster anyway.”

Josh Brookes was second on the Milwaukee Yamaha, fresh from the Isle of Man, but the front row was rounded out with a Ducati for the first time since Silverstone 2011, with Jakub Smrz taking third right at the end.

Fourth was Honda Racing wildcard Julien Da Costa, once again showing his consistent pace, and the Frenchman looks destined to upset the championship standings come tomorrow’s two races. Tommy Bridewell and James Ellison rounded out the second row.

Ellison’s teammate Chris Walker was back in 20th despite strong pace, after his GBmoto Kawasaki dropped a cylinder at the start of Q2, while John Hopkins continues to struggle on the Tyco Suzuki as he finished the day 12th.