Kent riders Shane Byrne and Leon Camier both impressed during the final round of the World Superbike Championship in Portimao, Portugal.

Byrne (pictured) finished just a place off the podium in both races while Ashford’s Camier clinched a sixth and seventh place on Sunday.

Sittingbourne’s Byrne put his Ducati 1098R second on the grid for the season finale as he went all out to make an impression and win a decent ride for the 2010 season.

A crowd of 86,000 saw American Ben Spies take the world crown but Byrne will be happy with his own performance and he competed strongly against the factory teams over the course of the weekend.

Byrne led much of the second race but eventually dropped off the pace and had to settled for another fourth.

British Superbike champion Camier was the guest rider again for the Aprilia team and he finished among the points twice and will be hoping he too can claim a seat in the World championship next year.

Byrne ended the season in eighth.