Byrne back on track

Shane Byrne got his first chance to ride Kenny Roberts’ Proton KTM MotoGP bike yesterday, after nearly five months away from the track.

Shakey has had a difficult winter first waiting to hear if the Apirlia team he was with would continue or not and then having to endure painfully slow negotiations with Team KR.

Read our full interview with Byrne in MCN, out March 9

But it didn’t take long for him to get back in to the swing of things at the Valencia test and his first comments were how much more civilised the KTM engine was compared to the Aprilia.

After just 45 laps Byrne was running just 5 seconds off last year’s race pace, setting a best lap of 1:39.0 compared to the fastest lap of the 2004 race set by Max Biaggi at 1:33.5

Shinya Nakano was also at the track testing the big bang Kawasaki engine. He set a best lap of 1:35.22.