Shane "Shakey" Byrne has two British Superbike Championship titles. When Ryuichi Kiyonari surpassed his title count this year by claiming his third BSB title, "Shakey" decided that it was time to get back in the game.
"I saw Kiyo win the title, and until then Niall Mackenzie had always been the leading rider in terms of championship wins – he had three to mine and Kiyo's two," Byrne said. "Now Kiyo has three too, one more than me and I definitely want to equal the score!I am coming back to BSB to win races, score podiums and fight for the championship; I am a racer, and racers want to win."
Kiyonari and Byrne will both be racing for HM Plant Honda next year. Kiyonari will be sporting the number 1 plate on his bike, which is sure to motivate Byrne even more.
“Every rider will tell you there is a rule in racing and that is to beat your team-mate – and mine is the reigning champion, so that's giving me real motivation," Byrne said.
But Kiyonari isn't just going to lie down and let "Shakey" even the score. Kiyonari has a title to defend, and if he successfully defends his title, he'll be the only British Superbike rider to claim four titles.
"I now want to win again, as nobody has won the championship four times," Kiyonari said. "There is new competition for next season, like "Shakey" coming back and riders changing teams, so it is another new challenge. It is important to me to win again, and I know that with HM Plant Honda we can fight for it."
With Shane "Shakey" Byrnes and Ryuichi "King Kiyo" Kiyonari, HM Plant Honda has two riders that could very easily take the 2011 BSB Championship.
“We are very happy to announce this strong, two-rider line-up in the British Superbike Championship,” said HM Plant Honda team manager Havier Beltran. "Now we've got two very talented and experienced riders with five BSB titles between them."
