Shane Byrne starred in a British Superbike classic, then had a lucky escape on a dramatic day at Brands Hatch.

Sittingbourne rider Byrne was pipped by 0.103sec by fellow triple champion Ryuichi Kiyonari in the opening race on Sunday.

Byrne came fifth in a second race that had two restarts but he was lucky to finish at all having been clipped by the bike of James Ellison as it cartwheeled across the track following a crash at Dingle Dell.

Championship leader Byrne and Kiyonari regularly swapped positions in a thrilling race one battle that saw the Japanese rider hold off the home favourite on the final lap, with Ellison third.

Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki man Byrne said: "I think it was a difficult race. I got a good start and led for pretty much most of it and could see that I wasn't getting away from them.

"Kiyo did a really good job and I managed to get by him, then he came back and I think any one of the three of us could have won it.

"I had a couple of ideas for the last lap but they never quite came to fruition."

The second race was won by Josh Waters, with Richard Cooper second and Keith Farmer third.

Byrne leads Brookes 221-129 in the standings and has a 39-14 advantage in podium credits.