Byrne back on track in Qatar
Added on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Byrne back on track in Qatar
Shane Byrne hopes that his World Superbikes rookie year is back on track after an impressive top-six finish in Qatar on Saturday.
The British Superbike champion overcame a disappointing double-crash in Australia two weeks ago to secure a place as the top-ranked Brit in the first race at Losail at the weekend, with only Ducati in front of ‘Shakey’ in both races being that championship leader Noriyuki Haga.
Byrne secured a sixth place finish during race one before tyre problems limited him to a twelfth place finish in race two but the 32-year-old is happy that his debut season is back on track.
“It was certainly a more satisfactory race than the previous one,” said Byrne. “I had a great race one battling Checa but after a disappointing first round it was very important for me to finish the race.
“The sixth place is a good result, but I could’ve done better in race two, especially after that great start that took me on fourth position. Nevertheless, I knew from the start that something wasn’t going the way it should, as the back tyre was spinning on the circle. I had to kind of give up a little and try to get as much as possible. Unfortunately, in the last few corners I was passed, I lost a lot of positions and finished twelfth.
“However, the team have done a great job and fighting for the podium in the next rounds is possible in spite of how hard-fought the competition is”.
After two rounds of “flying solo” for the Sterilgarda Ducati team due to budget cuts, Byrne will also be joined by teammate Alessandro Polita for the next round in Valencia on April 5.
