Irwin Wins and 'Shakey' gets on the podium in Dramatic day at Silverstone

Northern Ireland’s Glenn Irwin took his maiden MCE British Superbike Championship victory in dramatic fashion at Silverstone in race one with rider reveling in the damp conditions to win by a commanding 3.4 seconds

However, there was disappointment for team-mate and defending champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne who crashed out of sixth place on the final lap although due to the mathematics of the race results, it meant he still became the first rider to secure his place in the Showdown which starts next weekend at Oulton Park.

After the highs of Glenn Irwin’s first MCE British Superbike Championship race win on Saturday, the WIX Filters backed Ducati Racing Team had a challenging day at Silverstone on Sunday, the highlight of which was five-times and defending champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne finishing third in the opening race to grab another valuable Podium Point prior to the Showdown.

Londoner Byrne, started the first race on Sunday from pole position and a perfect start on the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R saw him grab the lead into the first corner from where he held sway over the field for the first half of the race before dropping to third.
 
Following a safety car intervention, the pack closed up but just as Byrne was planning a charge to victory in the closing laps, out came the red flag due to oil being dropped on the circuit leaving him to claim the final podium spot for Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team.
 
Team-mate Irwin, fresh from his maiden BSB win, started the opening 14-lap encounter from the second row of the grid, completing the opening lap in sixth place. However, the rider’s race was soon over as he crashed out a lap later, fortunately without injury, at Stowe corner.
 
Byrne started the second race, which was held in wet conditions, on the front row once more with Irwin on row four before taking over the lead on the second lap and extending it as Irwin moved up to seventh. However, it all went wrong for the team on the sixth lap as both Shakey and Irwin crashed out just prior to the red flag as conditions deteriorated.
 
As a result, Byrne leads the standings on 532 points ahead of Leon Haslam on 526 going into next weekend’s opening Showdown encounter at Oulton Park.