Shane 'Shakey' Byrne returned to the top spot in the second free practice session for the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this afternoon, firing the Be Wiser Ducati to the top of the times with less than a second covering the top 19.

A hectic session saw riders trading blows for the top spot, but when the chequered flag fell it was the home hero and defending champion who had the edge by 0.175s from James Ellison who had pushed himself to the leading position several times during the 45 minute dry session.

Christian Iddon was third fastest for Tyco BMW as he had set the pace earlier in the second session; he maintained an advantage over Luke Mossey and Jason O'Halloran who completed the top five.

Glenn Irwin was sixth fastest on the second of the Be Wiser Ducatis and he had been a rider to also feature at the top of the times before the final improvements in the closing stages. Leon Haslam was seventh place ahead of Peter Hickman and Richard Cooper as Jake Dixon completed the top ten.

The session had been briefly red flagged when Dan Linfoot crashed out at Graham Hill Bend; he was taken to the medical centre before he was taken to the Princess Royal University Hospital for further scans for back pain.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Free Practice two:

Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 45.384s
James Ellison (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +0.175s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.220s
Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.228s
Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) +0.278s
Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.280s
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.332s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +0.429s
Richard Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.441s
Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +0.458s