Brookes and Byrne launch war of words ahead of BSB finale

Josh Brookes and Shane Byrne have launched a war of words ahead of this weekend’s first MCE British Superbike race, after the Australian jokingly commented after qualifying that it was like the triple champion has ‘some sort of voodoo power’ to upset his rivals. The comments came after Ryuichi Kiyonari crashed out of free practice and broke his collarbone, all but handing the title to Bryne for a record fourth time.

“I can’t help but think about what sort of voodoo shit Shakey is up to now! He never seems to have a bad string of luck, and everything seems to play into his hands. It was devastating to see the championship end with Kiyo landing in the gravel, but we’ll do our best to put on a big show.”

After the session, he elaborated on his comments: “Everyone wanted to see the championship come down to a battle, and – this was my point – Shakey never seems to have the bad luck that inflicts the rest of us – it’s like he’s got some out-of-body power that fucks up everyone else’s year!”

“Really though, he should be under less pressure, because all he has to do is go out and circulate around. It should be a good chance for me when he doesn’t win, but his voodoo normally goes against me so no doubt I’ll find a gravel trap or something!”

However, Byrne was quick to hit back at Brookes, launching an attack on the Australian’s perceived lack of respect.

“He’s got a bike that has won the championship before, if he had done the job I’d done he’d be fighting for the championship too. I’m really annoyed that he’s come out with that, it’s a really frustrating thing to sit and listen to. I know what I’ve done this year and if it wasn’t in a showdown format I’d have already won the championship anyway, it’s not as if I have fluked it just because there has been an accident. I didn’t go and push Kiyo off, Josh needs to get himself together and be a little more professional and respectful.”

“My objective is to win three races this weekend and whatever happens, that’s what I’m still going to try and do.”