2 wheels beats 4 at Brand Hatch showdown.
Discussion
Wish I been there to see this.
Rizla Suzuki rider Shane Byrne claimed top honours for the Bennetts British Superbike Championship in a showdown with the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.
Byrne was joined by Tommy Hill, Michael Rutter and Motorcycle News' Dave Rawlings for a one lap race around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit against BTCC stars Tom Chilton, Darren Turner and Dave Pinkney – who were joined in 'Team BTCC' by Track and Race Cars magazine editor Keith Wood.
The race, to promote the next round of the BTCC at the Kent circuit on 24 September and the BSB season finale a week later, saw both teams face a unique challenge – as the BSB stars had to acclimatise to having one wheel extra and the BTCC drivers to having one wheel less on three-wheeled KMX ST pedal karts.
Virgin Mobile Yamaha rider Hill took an early lead from VX Racing's Tom Chilton in a daring move around Paddock Hill Bend, although an 'engine' failure for MCN journo Rawlings at the top of Hailwoods brought out the Safety Car and bunched up the grid once more – although leader Hill was feeling the heat.
"You don't realise how steep the hills are at Brands until you have to pedal up them!" he said. "I shouldn't have worn my leathers either – I was far too hot…"
On the restart, Pinkney made his move on Michael Rutter as if the Stobart Honda rider 'was standing still' – a keen observation from the Motorbase Performance driver given that Rutter had been forced to stop after his keys and mobile phone fell out of his pocket at Graham Hill Bend.
A loose steering arm forced SEAT Sport UK's Darren Turner to join Rawlings in retirement meaning that – despite the best efforts of Wood to cheat his way up the order by cutting Clearways – the race came down to a three way fight between Byrne, Chilton and an over-heating Hill.
As the leaders crossed the line it was Byrne who emerged victorious, a result he will be eager to repeat on 1 October when the BSB season draws to a close.
"It was a lot harder than I thought!" he said. "I'm really happy with the win though and looking forward to more of the same at the end of the month for the BSB season finale."
Race results:
1. Shane Byrne Rizla Suzuki
2. Tom Chilton VX Racing
3. Tommy Hill Virgin Mobile Yamaha
4. Keith Wood Track and Race Cars magazine
5. David Pinkney Motorbase Performance
6. Michael Rutter Stobart Honda
Did not finish:
Darren Turner SEAT Sport UK Mechanical
Dave Rawlings Motorcycle News Fitness?
crash.net said:
Rizla Suzuki rider Shane Byrne claimed top honours for the Bennetts British Superbike Championship in a showdown with the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.
Byrne was joined by Tommy Hill, Michael Rutter and Motorcycle News' Dave Rawlings for a one lap race around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit against BTCC stars Tom Chilton, Darren Turner and Dave Pinkney – who were joined in 'Team BTCC' by Track and Race Cars magazine editor Keith Wood.
The race, to promote the next round of the BTCC at the Kent circuit on 24 September and the BSB season finale a week later, saw both teams face a unique challenge – as the BSB stars had to acclimatise to having one wheel extra and the BTCC drivers to having one wheel less on three-wheeled KMX ST pedal karts.
Virgin Mobile Yamaha rider Hill took an early lead from VX Racing's Tom Chilton in a daring move around Paddock Hill Bend, although an 'engine' failure for MCN journo Rawlings at the top of Hailwoods brought out the Safety Car and bunched up the grid once more – although leader Hill was feeling the heat.
"You don't realise how steep the hills are at Brands until you have to pedal up them!" he said. "I shouldn't have worn my leathers either – I was far too hot…"
On the restart, Pinkney made his move on Michael Rutter as if the Stobart Honda rider 'was standing still' – a keen observation from the Motorbase Performance driver given that Rutter had been forced to stop after his keys and mobile phone fell out of his pocket at Graham Hill Bend.
A loose steering arm forced SEAT Sport UK's Darren Turner to join Rawlings in retirement meaning that – despite the best efforts of Wood to cheat his way up the order by cutting Clearways – the race came down to a three way fight between Byrne, Chilton and an over-heating Hill.
As the leaders crossed the line it was Byrne who emerged victorious, a result he will be eager to repeat on 1 October when the BSB season draws to a close.
"It was a lot harder than I thought!" he said. "I'm really happy with the win though and looking forward to more of the same at the end of the month for the BSB season finale."
Race results:
1. Shane Byrne Rizla Suzuki
2. Tom Chilton VX Racing
3. Tommy Hill Virgin Mobile Yamaha
4. Keith Wood Track and Race Cars magazine
5. David Pinkney Motorbase Performance
6. Michael Rutter Stobart Honda
Did not finish:
Darren Turner SEAT Sport UK Mechanical
Dave Rawlings Motorcycle News Fitness?
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