Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne from Sittingbourne speaks to FUCHS SILKOLENE, one of the main partners of the five-time British Superbike champion.

As far as I’m concerned, the season starts here.

It’s no secret that my campaign got off to a woeful start and I’ve had some catching up to do.

But, after two more podium finishes at Knockhill, I am now third in the championship and nine podium credits behind Leon Haslam.

Psychologically, it feels much better. If anyone else had managed two third-place finishes then they’d be delighted I’m sure but I have really, really high standards. I expect to be out there winning races and if I’m not, I’m disappointed.

I always try to look at the positives, though. Knochill is somewhere I’ve done well over the years but it’s not a great track for the Ducati Panigale because there are a lot of off-camber corners and blind brows. There’s always something going on.

Maybe on a wet track we’d have a chance but on a dry track – as it was this time – we were up against it. Despite that, we are now back in the Showdown positions, so I’m not too unhappy.

What that means is that I can take a few more risks and push forward. We’ve got the points on the board and now if there is an opportunity to go all out for the win but there’s a chance I might run wide or whatever, I’m in the position to take that gamble.

That’s the type of racer I’ve always been – one who likes to win races. It’s been frustrating having to ride more tactically and racing within myself to a degree, so it’s a relief to shake the shackles off.

We’ve got some great tracks coming up now and it’s a golden opportunity to get some more points.

That starts at Snetterton this weekend, which is a much more straightforward track than Knockhill and suits the bike much better.

I was chuffed to see Jake Dixon take two wins at Knockhill. Jake is just 21 and, up until this year, I managed him as he is based down in Dover and I know his dad quite well. Jake decided he wanted to go alone this season, which he did with my blessing.

I felt proud seeing him on the podium with me. I have seen him be sick multiple times in the gym or lose his marbles on the bike because I’ve worked him so hard.

It’s great that me and Leon are getting lots of wins but at the same time, BSB needs to have a future. In maybe three or four years, I won’t be racing anymore and there has to be young guys coming through – we don’t want a big void.

The likes of Jake, Glenn Irwin and Luke Mossey are the future.