Shane Byrne had a mixed weekend in Italy during the 12th round of the World Superbike Championship.

The Sittingbourne racer (pictured) was hoping to make an impact at the Imola circuit but he crashed out eight laps into the opening race in front of a crowd of 67,000.

Race two was much better for Byrne as he battled against the top riders in the championship and at one stage climbed as high as fourth.

He finished the race in a battle with factory Honda’s Jonathan Rea and brought the Ducati 1098R bike home in seventh. Byrne sits 10th in the championship with the penultimate round taking place at Magny Cours, France this weekend.

He said: "I’m sorry for race one. I really wanted to do well, especially for the team on their home track. That’s why I was even more determined at the start of race two.

"I did climb a few positions but unfortunately the factory bikes were very strong and that’s basically the reason I couldn’t finish on top.

"Now we’re going to Magny Cours where we can definitely do well".