Shane Byrne...on pole at Donington Park
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AIRWAVES DUCATI rider Shane Byrne has clinched pole position for Monday's British Superbike Championship races at Donington Park.
The former BSB champion took pole with only two minutes remaining of the session remaining in slippery wet conditions at the East Midlands-based circuit.
Former MotoGP racer James Ellison took second spot on the grid, giving the Hydrex Honda rider his first BSB front row start.
Ducati-mounted Michael Rutter grabbed third spot on the front row, having led early in the session with HM Plant Honda's Cal Crutchlow fourth.
Byrne said: "I am looking forward to the race tomorrow whether it is wet or dry; it doesn't make that much difference to me."
“On my first couple of laps this afternoon I was really tempted to pull into the garage and just hold fire as the conditions were ridiculous. I decided I couldn’t give up before I properly tried though. Once I thought I had secured pole position I came in with about 20 minutes of the session to go. I decided to sit it out and see if anybody would go faster which, towards the end, my good friend Michael Rutter did. When I went back out the conditions had improved and the few changes my mechanics had made meant the bike felt even better and fortunately I was able to retake pole. It was a good job by the Airwaves Ducati team today; I hope I am able to do them proud tomorrow.”
Donington Park BSB Grid Positions:
1. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) 1m:46.939s
2. James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +1.048s
3. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) +1.462s
4. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) +1.626s
5. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +1.628s
6. Scott Smart (Hawk Kawasaki) +1.960s
7. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) +2.190s
8. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) +2.384s
9. Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda) +2.611s
10. Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing Yamaha) +2.690s
