Shane Bryne will ride for Paul Bird Motorsport in the British Superbike Championship next season after agreeing a deal with the Cumbria-based team.

The 34-year-old, from Sittingbourne, returns to the team where he won the first of his two British titles in 2003.

Byrne (pictured) finished third in the BSB last season, riding for HM Plant Honda after two years with Ducati in the World Superbike Championship.

Alongside Stuart Easton, he will ride a factory-specification Kawasaki ZX-10R in 2012.

He said: "It is mega to be back with the PBM team again after two successful seasons with them in the past, including winning the title in 2003.

"To visit the team again back in Penrith was like coming home for me and as if I had never been away.

"It is fundamentally the same squad as I worked with before and I know that the team wouldn’t come back to BSB unless they believed they could win."