Shane Byrne blows title race wide open with Brands Hatch win as Leon Haslam falters

Updated 15/10/2017 at 13:42 GMT

Shane Byrne has blown the British Superbikes title race wide open after picking up his second win of the final Showdown weekend at Brands Hatch.

Shakey Byrne on a BeWiser Ducati

Image credit: Eurosport

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The 40-year-old started 21 points behind Leon Haslam, but shot to the front of the pack in the early laps. He never let the lead slip, with Christian Iddon and James Ellison finishing behind him.

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Haslam, who got off to a good start and was initially sandwiched between Byrne and the other title contender Josh Brookes, began to slip further and further back, eventually settling in 10th place.

It means Byrne is just two points behind Haslam, going into the final race of the season at 4pm on Sunday.

Race 1 - Saturday

Byrne, chasing his sixth title, won by 1.799 seconds from Christian Iddon, with fellow title fighters Josh Brookes and Haslam third and fourth respectively.

It means the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider Haslam, who was passed by Brookes and Iddon early on, before making back a place, saw his lead slashed by 12 points to 21, with two races remaining in the championship.

It came after an early red flag, with Sylvain Guintoli, Dan Linfoot and Jake Dixon crashing out, with the race restarted shortly afterwards over 16 laps rather than 20.

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