Byrne bikes recovered

Rizla Suzuki has recovered the two stolen GSX-R1000 race bikes of Shane Byrne on Wednesday, July 6, 2006, allowing Byrne to ride one of the machines in the afternoon test session.

Working in conjunction with North Yorkshire police, the team received a tip-off about the location of the bikes.

“The team is delighted to have the bikes back,” said team manager Robert Wicks. “The theft has cost the team dearly, not least because of the development time lost. It also raised questions regarding security at Croft and we’ll be working with BSB organizers to make sure this cannot happen in the future.

I’d like to thank all the members of the media and the fans who lent us their support and I can promise Rizla Suzuki will be stronger as a result of this.”

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Despite the theft, Shane Byrne was able to finish the official two-day BSB test as fourth fastest. Leon Haslam headed the test for Airwaves Ducati with 1:19.976, followed by Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.217, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati ) +0.648, Byrne (Suzuki) +0.942, and Michael Rutter (Honda) +1.112.

Read the full story in next week’s MCN, on sale Wednesday.