BSB: Dominant Byrne tops opening day at Brands

Shane Byrne dominated the opening day of the seventh round of the MCE British Superbikes at Brands Hatch, obliterating the lap record to sit 0.6 seconds faster than the rest of the field. 

The four-time British Champion shrugged off a crash in FP1 to stick in a time fast enough to top the opening session, before going considerably quicker in the afternoon despite complaining of front end feeling. 

Byrne’s pace poses an ominous threat to rivals, with the Ducati man adamant he can go quite a bit quicker with a front end he’s happy with. 

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Jason O’Halloran led the chasing pack with his fastest-ever lap around Brands, ahead of Byrne’s Ducati team-mate Glenn Irwin and the second Honda of Dan Linfoot.

Richard Cooper ranked fifth fastest ahead of Tommy Bridewell and Christian Iddon, with Broc Parkes rounding out the top eight.

James Ellison was the top Kawasaki in ninth place as the JG Speedfit team continued to struggle with power delivery issues, his team-mates Peter Hickman and Leon Haslam sat 14^th and 15^th respectively.

Broc Parkes continued to show promise as he returns for ePayMe Yamaha in place of Stuart Easton to place ninth fastest, with Luke Mossey rounding out the top ten. 

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