Shane Byrne was delighted to continue his recent ascension through the World Superbike ranks as he secured his first front row start with the Sterilgarda Ducati team on home soil at Donington Park.

Although Byrne has kept a lower profile than many of his British rivals thus far, he moved to the forefront when it mattered after a savvy tyre choice at the end of the second qualification stage paid dividends.

Recognising that rain was on the way, Byrne bolted on the qualifying tyre at the end of Q2, comfortably reaching the shootout before getting back out on track immediately for the shootout.

Making the most of the changing weather conditions, Byrne was able to secure third position on the grid, a performance he was thrilled with.

"I'm really excited to start from the front row at Donington,” he said. “I'm happy for my best practice result of the season. I couldn't have done it though without the crew who have done such a good job.

“They managed to combine the best features of each of the two bikes I worked on yesterday. I'm ready for any weather condition for tomorrow's races. I'll try and use the warm up session to choose the tyres for race 1 and hopefully do well in both.”