By blue2bikes
November 15 2005

Rumours were rife at the last round of the British Superbike series, which took place at Brands Hatch, that a return by Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne was on the cards, and that a place had been offered to him within the Rizla Suzuki squad.

This is no longer a rumour, and it has just been announced that Shane has indeed signed for Rizla Suzuki for the 2006 campaign, alongside James Haydon aboard the factory backed GSX-R1000.

Shakey won the 2003 British Superbike championship, and then went on to the MotoGP series, whereupon he has had two frustrating years, not even gaining a top ten position.

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne at Cadwell Park in 2003 © Raceline Photography
· taken on the last lap of the first race, in which he won the title

Shakey said, “I had options in WSBK, MotoGP and BSB, and I chose Rizla Suzuki. I am all done with not winning and having no fun racing - I want to be at the front again, something that I have not had in the last two years.

“When considering my options, the most important thing to me was which team could provide me with the best possible package to win races, and Rizla Suzuki came out head and shoulders above the rest in any championship. I want to win and have fun next year, so this is the perfect team for me. The series is really competitive, and I am coming to get my championship back.”

Alongside team-mate James Haydon, this will certainly be a formidable force. Although Shakey will no doubt find that the BSB series has stepped up somewhat since 2003, his natural ability will stand him in good stead. Not only liked by all the riders who presently take part in the BSB series, Shakey has many loyal fans who will be there to cheer him on, especially as most of his fans have wanted him to return to our shores since he left.

Considering the likes of present champion Gregorio Lavilla, Leon Haslam, Michael Rutter, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Karl Harris, Tommy Hill, Glen Richards and co, who know Shakey will be out there and not just to make up the numbers, the 2006 championship will be electric.

Winter testing takes place in Spain during December, which will be Shakey’s début aboard the Rizla GSX-R1000.

Maybe the 2006 series will turn out to beat even this year’s championship, where it went down to the last round. Who knows? But one thing you can be sure of - it’s one championship that is not to be missed.

Welcome back Shakey.

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To buy the photograph shown above, visit Raceline Photography