Then with just five laps to go the action was red-flagged again, and this time for good, as Byrne came a cropper between Paddock Hill Bend and Druids, flying over his handlebars and ending up lying unconscious in the middle of the track. Although the worst was feared, thankfully he suffered nothing more than concussion, though it would rule the Rizla Suzuki star out of the second race of the day and scupper his chances of holding onto fourth spot in the championship.
I am disappointed to have finished the season with a crash, Shakey said afterwards. I was on fire all weekend and really thought I could have won or at least got on the podium, but the damp conditions caught me out.
It's been a challenging season but on a positive note I enjoyed riding this weekend and now know what it's going to take to win the title in 2007. I'll be back more determined than ever.
The result was thus declared with Kiyo taking his 11th victory of the season a mere two tenths of a second ahead of a frustrated Haslam and Rutter an excellent third, matching his best result of a generally dispiriting campaign and his first rostrum finish since the opening round back in March, also at Brands.
That's more like it, commented Stobart Motorsport team boss Paul Bird afterwards. It's great to be back on the podium again after a bit of a difficult season, and Michael came up trumps for us today to reward the team for their efforts. It was an important result for us and a tonic to take into 2007 it's only a shame it came right at the end of the season.
The luckless Byrne would not be classified in the end, promoting Hill to fourth ahead of Glen Richards and Scott Smart who had a charging race from the back of the grid with Wilson, Simon Andrews, James Haydon and runaway Superbike Cup champion Chris Martin rounding out the top ten.
