Shane 'Shakey' Byrne claimed the position at the top of the times in the opening MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship free practice session this morning at Thruxton; hitting the top spot on the Be Wiser Ducati ahead of Christian Iddon and Luke Mossey.

The soaring temperatures saw the lap times tumble throughout the session and the four-time champion was the one to set the benchmark as he improved his pace to hold off the chasing pack, which was constantly changing in the closing stages.

Iddon stole second place from Luke Mossey in the final five minutes, however the Tyco BMW rider ended his session with a retirement but he had still done enough to stay ahead of the Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki rider.

Lee Jackson had a strong opening session on the Buildbase BMW, securing fourth position and the Lincolnshire contender maintained his position inside the top eight for the entire session, showing that he intends on joining the fight this weekend.

Jason O'Halloran was the fastest of the Honda Racing contenders in fifth place, just ahead of Billy McConnell on the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki and Richard Cooper on the second Buildbase BMW.

Local contender Tommy Bridewell and Jake Dixon completed the top ten with JG Speedfit Kawasaki riders James Ellison, Peter Hickman and Leon Haslam holding 21st, 22nd and 24th respectively.  

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, Free Practice one:

Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:15.111s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.427s
Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +0.522s
Lee Jackson (Buildbase BMW) +0.549s
Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) +0.584s
Billy McConnell (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +0.775s
Richard Cooper (Buildbase BMW) +0.814s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +0.901s
Tommy Bridewell (Bennetts Suzuki) +1.009s
Jake Dixon (Briggs Equipment BMW) +1.085s