The HM Plant Honda team had a positive start to the fourth round of the British Superbike Championship at Thruxton today as Shane 'Shakey' Byrne set the fastest time in the opening two free practice sessions.

Shakey set the pace in both the morning and afternoon free practice sessions on the HM Plant Honda Fireblade whilst Ryuichi Kiyonari was feeling more comfortable after changes since the Croft round and set the fourteenth fastest time as the conditions changed towards the end of the second session.

In the Superstock 1000 Championship Jason O’Halloran set the fifth fastest time in the first qualifying session; he was running at the top of the timesheets until the closing stages when he returned to the garage and was nudged down the order. Jason is feeling confident though that he can improve his position in the second session tomorrow.

Byrne said:

"I think we are in a similar position to everyone else today. Straight out the box the HM Plant Honda Fireblade worked well and I am feeling pretty happy really. The bike is agile, in some places this morning a little too agile so we have calmed the girl down, changed the shock and the ride height and now we are just trying to get the most out of the Pirelli tyres. I really love this place and riding the HM Plant Honda Fireblade at real speed is great fun so I just want to have a good qualifying so we can be up there in the race on Monday."

Kiyo said:

“I am very happy with the feeling today of the HM Plant Honda Fireblade. We have worked hard as a team since Croft to improve and be happier with the bike. We did some long runs today and this morning we worked on engine set up and then this afternoon some chassis changes. There were a few changes that work, some that were not so good but we have direction for tomorrow.”

Jason said:

“It was a good session for me and we have made some steps forward with the HM Plant Honda Fireblade, but I did some laps and then I was a bit cautious with the spots of rain as I didn’t want to make an error and have a crash when we still have a second session. We are heading in the right direction so we should be in a good position for the second qualifying tomorrow.”

Team Manager Havier Beltran concluded:

“It has been a positive start to the Thruxton event for HM Plant Honda. Kiyo has been more comfortable today and as a team we have all worked hard since Croft so that would be the case. This track is fast and bumpy like Croft so we are pleased with today’s progress. There is still a lot for both riders to test and Shakey has been working on the chassis setting and tyre longevity ahead of Monday’s races and was able to still go fastest today. Jason was running at the top in the qualifying session this afternoon until the conditions changed and he didn’t want to risk pushing too hard, but he is confident that he can also have a strong qualifying performance tomorrow.”