Shane 'Shakey' Byrne made it one all between himself and title rival Alex Lowes as the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider topped the second MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship free practice session at Brands Hatch ahead of tomorrow's opening race.
In dry conditions this afternoon Byrne was straight out and ready to move himself up the order and the championship leader maintained his position ahead of rival Lowes, who had topped the damp morning session for Samsung Honda.
Byrne came close to being troubled by Lowes, but a resurgent Josh Brookes also fired himself back into contention for a strong result to the season as the Australian ran second fastest ahead of Lowes before dropping to third in the closing ten minutes.
The Tyco Suzuki team again had both riders in the top five with American PJ Jacobsen in fourth position on his return to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit ahead of Chris Walker who moved to fifth in the closing stages for Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki.
Jon Kirkham was sixth fastest and the leading Buildbase BMW as his last run of laps put him ahead of Milwaukee Yamaha's James Ellison and team-mate Tommy Bridewell. Jakub Smrz for Padgetts Honda and Karl Harris on the PR Kawasaki completed the top ten.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, free practice two:
Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 1m:25.959s
Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) +0.395s
Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +0.689s
PJ Jacobsen (Tyco Suzuki) +0.839s
Chris Walker (Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki) +1.684s
Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) +1.691s
James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) +1.692s
Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) +1.717s
Jakub Smrz (Padgetts Honda) +1.955s
Karl Harris (PR Racing Kawasaki) +2.034s
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