by Luke Cawdell

Home favourite Shane Byrne will be chasing the top spot of the podium as the British Superbike Championship stops off at Brands Hatch.

The championship is making the second of three visits to the Longfield circuit this season with Sittingbourne’s Byrne battling for a third domestic Superbike title.

Last time out, at Oulton Park, Byrne picked up two thirds and a second-place finish and he’s hoping for even better during round seven in Kent.

Byrne (pictured) said: "Brands Hatch is my home track and both myself and the team went away from Oulton Park ready to make improvements for this weekend.

"We are 100% revving now and we are all more motivated to have a good pair of races.

"I have been training hard and the team have made some improvements that mean we should see an even better version of the bike at Brands Hatch. This excites me as I love the Grand Prix circuit."

The top six riders in the championship standings after round nine will become the Title Fighters in the Showdown and have their points elevated to 500.

Podium credits earned in the main season will then added to this total. Byrne currently has 17 credits, sitting second behind Tommy Hill (24) – who claimed a trio of wins at Oulton Park.

Last weekend saw action at Brands from the Formula Two championship and the GT Open.

The Ferrari 458 of Philipp Peter and Michael Broniszewski claimed the win in the first GT Open on Saturday and the following day there was a victory for the Aston Martin Vantage team of Alvaro Barba and Matteo Malucelli.

Kevin Mirocha mastered a wet circuit to win the opening Formula Two race on Saturday and on Sunday, Mihai Marinescu led from lights to flag to win race two.

The Superbikes race at 1.30pm and 4.35pm on Sunday with adult gate tickets at £30. Under-13s are admitted free.

Do you think Byrne can return to the podium at Brands? Have your say below.