Shane 'Shakey' Byrne has vowed to do everything possible to return to winning ways in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship this weekend (19/20/21 June) and he started his weekend in style by holding off Josh Brookes to set the pace by 0.134s today (Friday).

Byrne had narrowly edged out his Milwaukee Yamaha rival in the opening session, but the four-time champion upped the pace this afternoon to set the fastest lap of the weekend so far, inside the existing lap record.

Byrne said:

"Today has actually been difficult despite what the time sheets say! We had some problems this morning and the team worked hard to fix it, which they did. We then concentrated on the bike set-up and to be honest at the moment is not where I like or need to be. We tried a few bits and pieces and now as a team we will come up with a plan for tomorrow to get the job done. I know we are capable and we will work harder to make it feel better for qualifying. I think we are there or thereabouts and that the boys will find the solution."

As the pair held on to the opening two spots, JG Speedfit Kawasaki's James Ellison continued to hold third, but behind him Be Wiser Kawasaki's Chris Walker had climbed the order and he pushed his way up to fourth position.

Broc Parkes is another rider determined to have a stronger performance at Snetterton and the Milwaukee Yamaha rounded out the top five this afternoon, continuing to prove the pace of the new Yamaha YZF-R1 at the Norfolk circuit.

Howie Mainwaring and the Quattro Plant Kawasaki team had another positive session, moving forward and holding sixth place, forcing ahead of Jakub Smrz on the Lloyds British Ducati who had led in the early stages of the session.

Stuart Easton improved his pace towards the closing stages of the session to move into eighth place on the second of the PBM Kawasakis with Jason O'Halloran and Christian Iddon completing the top ten.

Ryuichi Kiyonari narrowly missed out on the top ten, holding eleventh place after suffering a technical problem in the early stages of the session meaning he had less time on track than his rivals, but positive about closing the deficit after improvements at the end of the session.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Snetterton, free practice two result:

Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) 1m:47.664s
Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.134s
James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.566s
Chris Walker (Be Wiser Kawasaki) +0.658s
Broc Parkes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.659s
Howie Mainwaring (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.714s
Jakub Smrz (Lloyds British Ducati) +0.905s
Stuart Easton (PBM Kawasaki) +1.049s
Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) +1.090s
Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki) +1.216s