Byrne takes pole in rain-hit Snett qualifying

Reigning MCE British Superbike champion Shane Byrne has taken his thirty-fifth career pole position in a rain-hit qualifying session at Snetterton for tomorrow’s fourth-round races.

The PBM Kawasaki rider made it through Q1 with ease, but was lucky to have a lap in in Q2 when a heavy rain shower brought down title leader James Ellison and prevented many of the front runners – including Ryuichi Kiyonari – from making it through to Q3.

However, with drying conditions in the third of the three sessions, Byrne was able to utilise his confidence in the PBM bike to nearly match his dry weather pace despite the patchy conditions.

With Josh Brookes still struggling to find single-lap pace on the Milwaukee Yamaha and Kiyonari and Ellison out of the running, it was left to the Honda Racing duo of Jason O’Halloran and Dan Linfoot, coming back from a broken wrist, to take the final two front row spots in an impressive performance.

Jakub Smrz was another faller in the session, coming together with Victor Cox before falling heavily from the Moto Rapido Lloyds British Ducati, ruling himself out of tomorrow’s racing with a broken thumb that requires surgery.