British Superbikes: Shane Byrne wins race two at Snetterton to keep run going

Shane Byrne: British rider can celebrate again

Byrne cut a frustrated figure after being pushed back to third in the opening race at the sun-drenched Norfolk venue but he fought back later in the day to hold off Lowes and secure a 32-point lead in the race for the title.

Lowes made the most of a safety car in the opening race, storming past Byrne and Josh Brookes soon after the restart and edging further clear in the closing stages to win by just under two seconds from the Australian.

Byrne had to settle for third despite pushing Brookes all the way with James Ellison in fourth ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari and James Westmoreland.

But the Briton was able to maintain his record of winning at least one race per round this season in a thrilling second race, ending the day with a smile on his face rather than the scowl that graced it after race one.

Byrne held firm in the face of plenty of pressure from Brookes in the early stages, but the Australian dropped back after having take evasive action when he almost ran into the back of Byrne's Kawasaki.

Lowes saw his chance and started to close on Byrne but he denied the Honda rider an overtaking chance and held on by a quarter of a second.

Brookes took third ahead of Kiyonari and Westmoreland with Chris Walker sneaking a top-six finish on his Kawasaki.

Lowes moved into second place behind Byrne, but he is 32 points adrift with four rounds remaining before the start of the Showdown.

Byrne said: "The first race was dreadful for me - I didn't enjoy it. I couldn't turn the bike, nearly lost the front at Oggies on the warm up lap. It was very difficult.

"I was so frustrated. I had to ride and not race, and I want to race to win.

"The team worked really hard to make changes and I felt more confident to be able to push hard and settled down in the second one.

"I went from wanting to kill the team to wanting to marry them in the space of two races!"

Lowes said: "I really enjoyed the races and in the second one I tried to get into a position to try and take Shakey but I never quite got there.

"I learned a lot from him over the last five laps, but he didn't make any mistakes and rode really well."