Byrne: Family makes you faster, not slower!
Shane Byrne says having a family to support as a professional motorcycle racer makes you faster and he now aims to win to make his children proud over any personal accolades.
The five-time and defending MCE British Superbike champion sits top of the riders’ championship with just one round until the Showdown as he hunts an unprecedented sixth BSB title and become the first rider in a decade to successful defend the title.
Shane Byrne says having a family to support as a professional motorcycle racer makes you faster and he now aims to win to make his children proud over any personal accolades.
The five-time and defending MCE British Superbike champion sits top of the riders’ championship with just one round until the Showdown as he hunts an unprecedented sixth BSB title and become the first rider in a decade to successful defend the title.
In a wide-ranging interview with Crash.net, talking about his future in the sport, the Ducati V4 and his life away from racing, Byrne feels he’s proof that starting a family while still racing can make riders faster – breaking the preconception having a family slows down riders.
“There are those bullshit comments that having kids slows you down by half a second. What a load of shit!” Byrne said. “I think it actually makes me faster!
“I’m not racing solely for myself anymore, I am racing for my family. My family mean more to me than any race bike, any race team or any victory. Your family is what continues in your name and any achievement I’ve got means nothing to me unless they are happy and get to enjoy the moment with me. That makes me far happier.
“It sounds like racing comes second but that is only true once I take my crash helmet off. Once the helmet is on I have a job to do and I’ll do that job to the best of my ability but the second I am off the bike I want to see Zack, Lilly and Petra. Then we all celebrate with the team as one big group so family for me is cool and definitely doesn’t make you slower.”
The leading lights in British motorcycle riders currently all have families including Byrne, with Jonathan Rea as two-time defending World Superbike champion with two sons, MotoGP race winner Cal Crutchlow with one daughter and 23-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness with one son and one daughter.
