Byrne: No BSB titles won in the first round

Shane Byrne says he was disappointed to sit out of the opening round of the 2017 MCE British Superbike championship at Donington Park but is relishing the rest of the campaign to chase down his rivals.

The defending BSB champion suffered a nasty off during morning warm-up just hours before the season opener and had to be taken by stretcher to the medical centre.

After being checked over by doctors Byrne was diagnosed with concussion and immediately ruled out of the opening races of the BSB season at the Leicestershire track.

Byrne has no complaints about the decision and is relieved to have not suffered further injury which should see the five-time BSB champion return to action for the second round at Brands Hatch Indy on the 15-17 April.

"It was disappointing to sit out the races today but I've been around racing long enough to know things like this happen," Byrne said. "The good news is that nothing is broken and after a couple of day's rest, I'll be absolutely fine.

"The championship hasn't been won today and there's an awful lot more races that are there for us to win. I'm going off to Spain to relax and have a few days in the sun to recover and I intend to bounce back at Brands Hatch in a couple of weeks' time."

Leon Haslam, who finished runner-up to Byrne in the 2016 BSB title race, claimed a dominant double victory at Donington Park in the Be Wiser Ducati rider's absence but with the Showdown format effectively on has a 10 point lead on the podium credits which contribute to the three-round finale.