by Luke Cawdell

Shane Byrne claimed a hat-trick of podium finishes during the British Superbike Championship round at Oulton Park.

Byrne, pictured, finished third in the opening two races and took a second in race three to leave him trailing Tommy Hill and Josh Brookes in the championship standings.

The Kawasaki racer from Sittingbourne qualified fifth but was disappointed with third spot after Saturday's opener.

He said: "I seemed to be having a slight problem with my rear tyre as I seemed to be having a lot of chatter. When Michael (Laverty) crashed in front of me I had to sit up and then collided with Josh. I was gutted to be third."

He followed that up with another third in the opening race on Sunday, finishing just ahead of Laverty and Noriyuki Haga.

He said: "We needed to be finishing on the podium again getting those credits. Fifth is not where we need to be."

Byrne then fended off Haga to claim second in the final race, saying: "I think all of us had the same plan and that was to not let Tommy (Hill) get away.

"I am really grateful to the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki team for all their hard work this weekend and that podium finish, but I am still gutted that we haven’t had a win."

Hill won all three races and the defending champion is leading Brookes by 28 points after six rounds, with Byrne a further point behind in third.