Shane Byrne topped the free practice leaderboard ahead of the Holiday Monday double race fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park.

The former winner of the title is back in domestic action after two seasons in World MotoGP and together with team-mate James Haydon, is working frantically to end a lean start to the campaign by the Rizla Suzuki team.

They tested strongly at the 2.692 mile Cheshire circuit last week and maintained that form into the official sessions, with Byrne almost on the lap record pace, with a best time of 1m 36.543secs, 100.38 mph while Haydon fourth fastest, just a quarter of a second slower.

“We’ve had more time on the bike and that has enabled us to make a lot of progress, so now we are almost there with the set-up, and the test session here, coupled with the work we’ve done in these sessions has helped enormously,” smiled a relieved Byrne.

“It would be good to be able to put a good lap in qualifying – pole start would be really good, especially after the bad luck we’ve had with qualifying so far this season. We’re positive now, and looking for strong results in these races,” he added

Leon Haslam, aboard the Airwaves Ducati, had set the pace for much of the afternoon session, before Byrne upped the pace, but the young Derbyshire rider hit back strongly, and by the close was just 0.008secs down on the Suzuki rider.

Karl Harris, who had bashed his feet in a testing crash the previous week, had set the top time in the morning session, lapping then in 1m 36.686secs, took a tenth of a second off that next time out to be third best, aboard the HM Plant Honda.

Defending champion, and current series leader Gregorio Lavilla improved his times towards the end of the afternoon, ending the day with the fifth best time, 1m 37.260secs, to be ahead of Virgin Mobile Yamaha rider Tommy Hill and Michael Rutter on the Stobart Motorsport Honda.

Jonathan Rea continued his rich vein of form with a lap of 1m 37.517secs aboard the Red Bull Honda to push HM Plant Honda rider Ryuichi Kiyonari, a double winner last September here, back into ninth place, a little over a second down on Byrne’s time, but just ahead of Dean Thomas on the Hawk Kawasaki.

James Buckingham, riding the Quay Garage Honda topped the British Superbike Cup qualifiers with a best lap time of 1m 39.291secs, ahead of Chris Martin and Marty Nutt.

Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki’s Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne was fastest in today’s practice sessions for the fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park – with team mate James Haydon close behind in fourth place.

Coming off the back of a successful test at the 2.69-mile-long Cheshire track last week when Shakey led the way, the 29-year-old started where he left off and was not going to be beaten today.

In bright sunshine Haydon built up his pace in both 50-minute long practice sessions and ended up fourth just a quarter of a second behind his team mate.

Superbike racing starts at 14:00 on Bank Holiday Monday, May 1st at Oulton Park in Cheshire.

Shakey Byrne:
“It’s great to be at the sharp end of the timesheets – we are still learning more about the Rizla Suzuki and getting quicker with every session.

“I made a change to the rear suspension on my bike with only a few minutes to go and I thought it made another improvement. That will be my starting point for practice and qualifying tomorrow. With a bit of luck we can keep this momentum going through the races on Monday.”

James Haydon:
“After two tough race meetings it feels really good to be so close to the top of the time sheets. Our test here last week has given us a lot to work with and that, combined with all the work the team has been doing, is showing some promising results.

“I am comfortable on the bike and made some minor changes through the day. I then sat down with my crew and we discussed a plan we think will cut the lap times further tomorrow. It’s been a good first day for me and the team.”

Niall Mackenzie - Race Operations Manager:
“The improvement in performance started at the last round at Thruxton when Shakey had two dry races where he had to try hard and fight through the traffic. He was able to push the GSX-R1000 further than ever before and has given valuable feedback to his mechanics to help further develop the bike.

“We enjoyed a successful test here a week ago with both riders. We have come here with a clear plan of action and so far it’s working.

“Dunlop supplied the team with some new tyres this weekend and both riders found them to be an advantage. They recorded their fastest lap times on tyres that will last race distance, so all-in-all we are in good shape at the end of practice day.” rd.”