This weekend, his task would involve beating the on-form Rizla Suzuki pair of John Reynolds and Yukio Kagayama. And Byrne didn’t help his cause by making himself pretty sore in a practice crash. Third place on the grid was a good start for the 26-year-old, but it was behind Reynolds’ pole sitting GSX-R, and also the Renegade Ducati of Michael Rutter. Steve Plater’s Honda completed the front row - his best placing of the year so far.

The second rank were led by the 750cc Kawasaki of Glen Richards, from Sean Emmett (ETI Ducati), Gary Mason (Virgin Yamaha) and Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati). Kagayama’s weekend - and maybe his entire season - was ended early when he suffered a bad crash during the race day warm-up. The penalty for this was an injury to the pelvis, which is not a quick mend.

Race one began with Reynolds converting pole into the lead, followed by Byrne, Plater, Richards, Mason, Rutter, Haslam and Emmett. Byrne was an early mover, taking the lead on the inside for a right-hander. Plater also passed ‘JR’, this time at a left, just when the Suzuki man’s foot came off the peg for a moment. Even in the early laps it was the first five runners setting the pace, with the rest already dropping away.

Plater, fresh from his race win at Oulton Park, was looking racy again on his local circuit. At the hairpin section, he and Byrne traded the lead, with Shakey getting the verdict. Then Reynolds overtook the Honda on the outside. The pace of these three soon took them clear of the two in pursuit, with Mason now heading Richards.

Plater was obviously looking for better than third, and used his track knowledge to find a way past Reynolds at the downhill hairpin. He then had another go at Byrne, in a left-hander, but couldn’t make the pass. Indeed, all three front-runners were in feisty mood. Reynolds soon dived inside Plater on the brakes, making contact as he effectively forced his way through. Despite this, Steve was back to second in no time.

He lost the place when he experienced a brief ‘moment’, but had more serious worries not long after. Going over the leap up onto the mountain section, the Honda’s chain came off! Plater stopped by the track’s edge to try and re-engage the offending item. Unfortunately, the bike over-balanced as he attempted the job. Although he was able to get it going again, something else had broken in the tumble, and it was a lost cause.

This left a race between Byrne and Reynolds, both a long way clear of the rest. The Ducati man had made some ground while ‘JR’ was scrapping with Plater, but now the Suzuki pushed on to try and regain the advantage. In the end, Shakey was too fast, and he held on for his tenth win of the year. With it came the 2003 British Superbike championship, and Byrne was understandably jubilant.

The tussle for what became third had evolved into a three man affair, as Rutter joined the Mason-Richards pair. By the finish the Ducati was ahead, with Mason’s Yamaha fourth and Richards bringing the Kawasaki into fifth. Behind them came Scott Smart, on the second ZX-7RR, and the seemingly lacklustre Emmett. With Kagayama, Plater, Dean Ellison, Chris Burns (débuting on the Virgin Yamaha), Haslam and Jon Kirkham all missing at the finish, Suzuki privateer Dennis Hobbs was an astounding eighth, and the remaining points went to Lee Jackson, Nick Medd and Paul Jones.

At the start of race two, Reynolds led away from Rutter, Mason, Plater, Byrne, Haslam, Richards, Smart and Emmett. In no time at all, however, the first six had shuffled so that Rutter led Reynolds, Plater, Mason, Haslam and Byrne. Plater was on another charge, passing Reynolds on the inside at the hairpin and, when the chance arose, doing the same to Rutter to take the lead. It was a move no-one else seemed capable of making, but Steve would just jam it in tight and take away the most direct line as they switched from left to right.

The first four were in a class of their own this time, with Byrne the last of these after dealing with Haslam and Mason. Once again the racing was pretty frantic, with Reynolds passing Rutter in a straight line, then almost clipping Plater’s Honda as he nipped through at top speed! Plater was able to replicate his hairpin manoeuvre, only for Reynolds to recover the lead on pure power. These two began to move clear of the Ducati riders.

Plater’s next successful overtaking move came as he went inside the Suzuki at a left-hander. When Reynolds then made a small mistake, he lost ground, giving the Honda rider a chance to break away. This he duly managed, and a late charge from Reynolds was not enough to prevent Plater achieving his second victory of the year, and his fourth in total.

Meanwhile, the new champ finished in an unchallenged third place. Byrne had mounted an attack on Rutter, and Michael had managed run off the track trying to keep his place. By the time he had righted the 998 and rejoined, he had lost a lap, but he still made the finish for a single point. Therefore, fourth went to team-mate Haslam, ahead of Mason, Richards, Emmett, Burns, Jackson, Ellison and Kirkham.

Shane Byrne’s run to the title had been a lesson in top class riding, and it now looks as though both he and the MonsterMob team are looking to the World Championship for next year. Meanwhile, a strong day for John Reynolds put him in the driving seat for second overall, while Plater’s win has leap-frogged him over the absent Kagayama. There are still four races to run, and you can expect the excitement to be maintained, if not heightened...

Standings after twenty races: Byrne 406; Reynolds 277; Rutter 243; Plater 227; Kagayama 214; Richards 210; Mason 172; Emmett 166; Smart 128; Steve Hislop 122; Jackson 91; Mark Heckles 75.

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