Shane Byrne (born 10 December 1976), often known as Shakey, is a British professional motorcycle road racer. He is a six-time champion of the British Superbike Championship (2003, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017), the only man in the history of the series to win six titles. He has also been a race winner in the Superbike World Championship and has competed in MotoGP.
The oldest rider competing in the 2018 British Superbike series, Byrne suffered serious injuries involving multiple fractures to his upper body after crashing during a test at Snetterton Circuit in May when placed third in the championship. He was successfully treated at Norwich University Hospital and confirmed the extent of his injuries via social media.
Byrne announced via social media on 24 July 2018 that the metal cage attached to his skull supporting his head and neck via his shoulders had been removed in favour of a neck-brace collar, but there was still many more months of recovery anticipated due to poor growth of new bone.
Prior to motorcycle racing Byrne was a London Underground worker. After racing he worked as a motorcycle race commentator for Eurosport television from 2019, and is also a manager and mentor to racer Bradley Ray.
Early days
Byrne was born in Lambeth, London. While working as a road tester for Fast Bikes magazine, he participated in track days on a Ducati 996 SPS at a wet Oulton Park. He caught the attention of Paul Bird, his future boss.
Byrne emerged in the British Superbike Championship in 1999, initially on a private Kawasaki. In 2001 he finished eighth in the championship on board the Performance House Suzuki, which had been previously raced in the 1997 World Superbike Championship, under the Harris brothers' business, Harris Performance. Byrne had five top-five finishes in the 2001 season and was champion of the Privateers' Cup; he was the privateer winner in 22 races out of 26.
Early Success
In 2002, he was signed by Mark Griffiths at Renegade Ducati to ride alongside Michael Rutter. He also achieved his first British Superbike Championship win in the first race of round three at Donington Park after a race-long battle with Steve Plater on the Virgin Yamaha. At the end of 2002 he joined Paul Bird at MonsterMob Ducati controversially replacing reigning champion Steve Hislop. He stunned the paddock by storming to a string of wins, taking the title with ease. He impressed further by achieving a double win at Brands Hatch for the British round of the Superbike World Championship.
MotoGP
For he joined fellow Brit Jeremy McWilliams in MotoGP with Aprilia, although he missed several races because of injury. He spent much of racing for Kenny Roberts' team on a KTM bike, before they were forced to pull out due to an internal dispute between the chassis and engine manufacturers. He raced in Malaysia and Qatar for Camel Honda, replacing the injured Troy Bayliss. But after finishing 14th and 13th, Byrne did not impress Honda and was replaced by Chris Vermeulen.
Back to Britain 1
For 2006 he returned to the British Superbike Championship with Rizla Suzuki squad. His first podium came in Race Seven despite suffering a severe stomach virus that weekend. He missed Races 11 and 12 after a 187 mph crash caused by a brake failure; he was not seriously injured. At Knockhill he qualified second and followed with a second-place finish in Race One. The team's first win of the season came in Race Two. This was despite the team's bikes having been stolen and dumped in a barn alongside horse manure the previous week. At the final round of the season he was running third when he highsided, being knocked out in the process. Although he again escaped serious injury, he was unable to compete in the final race of the year, which meant he slipped from fourth to sixth in the championship standings.
For 2007, Byrne was reunited with his former Monstermob boss, Paul Bird, who was now running the Stobart Vent-Axia team, a privateer team using the 1000cc Honda Fireblade. The Honda was competitive from the start, giving Byrne more opportunities to fight at the front. He finished fifth overall, with a win, a pole position, and nine further podiums.