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Shane Byrne wary of threat from Alex Lowes to his British Superbikes hopes
09:58, 02 October 2012
Shane Byrne admits he can look no further than seeing off MCE Insurance British Superbikes' coming man Alex Lowes if he is to lift his third title later this month.
Having arrived at the penultimate round of the season second in the overall standings on paper Byrne should have been the happiest man in the paddock having moved to top spot after the Silverstone proceedings.
However while his pair of second-place finishes were enough to oust Aussie rival Josh Brookes it was double race winner Alex Lowes that ensured Byrne left the Northamptonshire circuit with much to ponder.
At 22 Lowes is 13 years Byrne’s junior and the Kent ace admits he is more than a little concerned at the Lincolnshire ace’s late-season form.
Lowes’ wins – the second of which came after a thrilling last-lap battle with Byrne – were his first-ever BSB victories and Byrne said: "The second race was a great race. I really enjoyed it, when Alex got to the front I thought 'here we go'.
"Alex didn't seem quite as strong as in the first race - that was a massive moment he had out on the back straight and that gave me a chance to win it.
"I tried to be precise and clean. I could hear him behind me and thought that I was going to get snookered.
"I wanted to get a good drive on the last lap and I couldn't believe it when he was alongside me right at the end.
"First things first at the last round I need to try and beat Alex, that’s got to be the aim. It can be very volatile out there so I need to take each race as it comes.
"Full credit to my team – we didn't even make warm up because we had some problems earlier.
"Hopefully if we do a good job it will be good enough to take the title."
While Byrne has Lowes and Brookes – the Aussie is nine points behind him – snapping at his heels the 35-year-old is taking confidence from his Brands Hatch pedigree.
The trip to the Kent circuit from October 12-14 is a homecoming for Byrne, who won both races there at the July meet, and he added: "Brands [Hatch] worked well for us earlier in the year, and hopefully we can do something good again."
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