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IN THE WIND P22 BYRNE TAKES FOURTH BSB TITLE S hane Byrne became the first man in history to take the Brit- ish Superbike Championship on four occasions when he clinched the 2014 crown with two wins on the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki at Brands Hatch on Sunday. The Brit's task was made slight- ly easier when season-long rival Ryuichi Kiyonari crashed out in free practice on Saturday morning, sustaining a broken collarbone in the process. But that didn't make it easy as Byrne crashed out of sec- ond place in Saturday's race and thus didn't gain any ground on his rival. That meant the title wouldn't be decided until the final race day of the season and although the Japa- nese rider was unable to start the two races, Byrne still had to finish fourth to make certain of the title. Starting from the third row of the grid, Byrne gradually worked his way through the field and hit the front for the first time at half race distance. From then on, he was never challenged and went on to earn the 60th British Superbike race of his career to secure the title. With the pressure off, Byrne (who also won his previous titles in 2003, 2008 and 2012), then went on to take his 61st race win in the final race of the year after a terrific six-rider battle. "After what happened on Satur- day, I was paranoid about some- thing going wrong on the first lap today and my only plan was to get through the first couple of laps unscathed," Byrne said. "I could see the guys leading but there was no rush and I picked them off one by one to eventually get the lead. I just concentrated on running a steady rhythm and got my head down to eventually open up a gap. To take the title with a win is mas- sive although, of course, it's a real shame Kiyo wasn't out there. Mas- sive commiserations to him and his team as I would have loved him to have been battling with us in all three races. I was really tense in the final few laps, but I brought the bike home and to wrap everything up with a double later on in the day was the perfect way to end the year. I'm delighted to win my fourth title so a massive thanks to every- one in the team." Saturday's race featured a first time winner with Quattro Plant Ka- wasaki's Howie Mainwaring taking the victory over Tyco Suzuki's Josh Waters with Halsall Biker Gear Ka- wasaki's Jon Kirkham ending up third. With Byrne winning the two races on Sunday, second place in race one went to Lloyd's Brit- ish GBmoto Racing Kawasaki's James Ellison second and Main- waring third. In race two on Sun- day, Ellison was second again with Tommy Bridewell third on the Mil- waukee Yamaha. Shane Byrne (center) celebrates his fourth British Superbike Championship after his race-one win on Sunday. He's flanked by James Ellison (left) and Howie Mainwaring (right).