Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki pairing Shane 'Shakey' Byrne and Keith Farmer gave the Paul Bird Motorsport Team a double reason to celebrate when they each took a victory at Knockhill in Scotland today.

After qualifying in fourth place aboard the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki ZX-10R, Byrne, from the Isle of Sheppey, romped to a comprehensive victory in the opening 30-lap MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship after seeing off the challenge from rivals Tommy Hill and Michael Laverty and the former double British Superbike Champion followed that up with a solid second place in the day's second outing to move into second place in the title race, just six points adrift of leader Hill.

Farmer, from Clogher in Northern Ireland, added to the team's success when he took a start to finish victory from pole position in the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship race aboard his Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki ZX-10R.

Having won the opening two rounds, the reigning Metzeler National Superstock 600 Champion overcame the disappointment of his recent non scores at Oulton Park and Donington Park to get his championship firmly back on course as he left the Fife track with a slender lead after seven rounds of the 13-race series

The PBM team's second BSB rider, Stuart Easton, was forced to miss his home round following successful surgery to remove some metalwork from his leg following on from his injuries last season. The Hawick rider hopes to be fit for the next round of the series whereby he is hoping to join Byrne and Farmer at Oulton Park in Cheshire.

Shane Byrne:

"I should be happy with 45 points from the weekend but 50 would have been better although it's never easy against the likes of Michael, Tommy and the rest. We made a big change to the bike in warm up and it really worked so having not had as much dry time as I'd have liked we had to gamble and it paid off. It's vitally important to just score podium credits now and be in the mix for the Showdown but I'm feeling really strong right now and am really looking forward to Oulton Park where I've already won this season."

Keith Farmer:

"It was important to get a good result today and I'm very pleased with the win as after a few rounds in the doldrums, our championship bid is back on course. To leave Knockhill with the series lead is more than I expected but I'm pleased for the whole team as they put a great bike underneath me this weekend. From now on it's just a case of racking up the points and making sure we are in with a shout as the second half of the season progresses."

Paul Bird, Team Owner:

"This has been a very solid weekend and great rides from both Shakey and Keith although I share Shakey's disappointment with his second place in race two as we thought he had the pace to win that one too. Keith had to overcome a minor issue with the tyre in his race late on but either way, it's kept both riders in championship contention. We now need to continue this form at Oulton Park and hopefully, get Stuart back and challenging for podiums as soon as possible."

MCE Insurance British Championship race 1 (30 laps)

1 Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors PBM Kawasaki)
2 Tommy Hill (Yamaha)
3 Michael Laverty (Honda)
4 Josh Brookes (Suzuki)
5 Tommy Bridewell (BMW)
6 Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha)

MCE Insurance British Championship race 2 (30 laps)

1 Michael Laverty (Honda)
2 Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors PBM Kawasaki)
3 Tommy Hill (Yamaha)
4 Josh Brookes (Suzuki)
5 James Westmoreland (Honda)
6 Tommy Bridewell (BMW)

Championship positions after five rounds

1 Hill 159pts
2 Byrne 153
3 Brookes 150
4 Laverty 122
5 Lowry 79
6 Bridewell 77
8 Easton 66

Metzeler National Superstock 1000cc Championship (24 laps)

1 Keith Farmer (Rapid Solicitors PBM Kawasaki)
2 Jimmy Storrar (BMW)
3 Victor Cox (Kawasaki)
4 David Johnson (BMW)
5 Steve Brogan (BMW)
6 John McGuinness (Honda)

Championship positions (after seven rounds)

1 Farmer 95pts
2 O'Halloran 92
3 Storrar 91
4 Buchan 85
5 Brogan 80
6 Cox 69