Byrne tops day one as rivals close gap

Shane Byrne has once again topped the day in pre-season testing for the MCE British Superbike Championship, finishing the day at Snetterton 0.4 ahead of Jakub Smrz as his rivals slowly close down the gap.
 
Smrz was impressive on the Millsport Ducati Panigale, finishing 0.4 behind Byrne but almost a second clear of third placed man Chris Walker, who had another fast day on the GBmoto Kawasaki to finish well clear of teammate James Ellison, back in 12th after suffering from electronics problems.
 
Ryuichi Kiyonari was an impressive fourth, as he settles into the Buildbase BMW team after the switch from Honda, while former series runner-up John Hopkins was fifth, as the American starts to gel with his new Tyco Suzuki.
 
Absent from the two day test was the Milwaukee Yamahas of Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell, sitting out the test after an extensive schedule in Spain earlier in the year.
 
The test resumes tomorrow from 9am, and is open to thepublic with free admission.
 
1 67 Shane BYRNE GBR Kawasaki – Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki 1:48.713
2 96 Jakub SMRZ CZE Ducati – Millsport Ducati 1:49.099           0.386
3 9 Chris WALKER GBR Kawasaki – Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki 1:50.011 1.298 0.912
4 23 Ryuichi KIYONARI JPN BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad1:50.270 1.557 0.259
5 21 John HOPKINS USA Suzuki – Tyco Suzuki 1:50.604 1.891 0.334
6 4 Dan LINFOOT GBR Kawasaki – Quattro Plant Kawasaki 1:50.804 2.091 0.200
7 6 Simon ANDREWS GBR Honda – RAF Reserves Honda 1:50.826 2.113 0.022
8 24 Patric MUFF SUI BMW – Bathams prize winning ales 1:50.828 2.115 0.002
9 27 James WESTMORELAND GBR BMW – Buildbase BMW Motorrad 1:50.858 2.145 0.030
10 86 Julien DA COSTA FRA Honda – Honda Racing         1:50.918 2.205 0.060
11 47 Richard COOPER GBR Kawasaki – Anvil Hire TAG Racing 1:51.148 2.435 0.230
12 77 James ELLISON GBR Kawasaki – Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki 1:51.320 2.607 0.172
13 40 Martin JESSOPP GBR BMW – RidersMotorcycles.com BMW 1:51.321 2.608 0.001
14 11 Michael RUTTER GBR BMW – Bathams prize winning ales 1:51.500 2.787 0.179
15 8 Ian HUTCHINSON GBR Yamaha – FFX Yamaha 1:51.880 3.167 0.380 95.53