Assen BSB: Shakey snatches last corner victory

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne ended his winning drought by snatching victory from the grasp of his ‘War for Four’ rival Ryuichi Kiyonari with a last corner move in the second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race at Assen.

On the opening lap John Hopkins held the lead initially from Kiyonari and Stuart Easton, but again the drama started early for the Title Fighters as Chris Walker crashed out and the Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki rider limped away.

At the front Kiyonari pushed ahead of Hopkins but Byrne was attacking hard after the disappointment of his race one crash. The Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider was up to second by the fourth lap and then he had Kiyonari firmly in his sights.

Byrne was shadowing Kiyonari throughout the race and was within striking distance of his rival. As the laps went by Byrne started to show his front wheel, making attempts at passes but it wasn’t until the final lap that he executed his move.

“I’m over the moon, it has been a long time since I won a race though it was almost cruel to take it like that,” said Byrne. “I had looked at a way past Kiyo but it was going to be a bit of a gamble though on the last lap we were really close.

“My speed through the previous corner was a bit faster than his, and then I was along the side of his bike. I thought my bike had better stay gripped, or I am going to launch myself to the moon with another crash. Luckily for me it held and I took the win in that one, making up for that first race when I threw it up the road.”

Byrne made a decisive move into the final chicane and Kiyonari couldn’t out drag his rival to the line. As the pair battled for the win they had been coming under the increasing threat of Milwaukee Yamaha’s Tommy Bridewell who had climbed the order and was waiting in the wings over the closing laps. He claimed a podium finish to move to within five points of team-mate Josh Brookes who was forced to retire with a technical problem after languishing in 25th.

Dan Linfoot narrowly missed out on the podium for the Quattro Plant Kawasaki team in fourth place ahead of Hopkins and Stuart Easton. James Ellison returned to the top ten in seventh place ahead of race one winner Josh Waters. Filip Backlund scored FFX Yamaha’s best result to date in ninth place and James Westmoreland completed the top ten.