Shane Byrne believes he is well placed to continue his dominance of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship after qualifying on the front row of the grid at
Mallory Park.
The championship leader has been consistently fast all weekend and led the way for much of the 50-minute qualifying session, only to be usurped by Michael Laverty and, later, Tom Sykes.
Experiencing a rare off as he tried to respond to Laverty's effort, the trip across the grass on new tyres would ruin Byrne's hopes of improving further.
Nonetheless, the Airwaves Ducati rider is pleased to be on the front row and is confident he has a package capable of challenging for an eighth win of the season around the sweeping Leicestershire Circuit.
“It was a difficult session this afternoon but I am pleased with the lap time that I achieved. The first Pirelli tyre I went out on was great and I wasn't sure I could improve as I was maxed out the whole way round the circuit.
“I was on pole position when Laverty knocked me off the top spot so I went back out on my final tyre but I pushed too hard and I went straight on at the first corner. I pulled myself together again and managed to get one more flying lap in but it wasn't to be.
“We'll look at a few things but I am confident we have a fantastic package for the race and that will carry us through to a good result.”
