Shane Byrne might not have won the round five battle at Knockhill – but he quickly vowed to win the MCE Insurance British Superbike war after a tough weekend in Scotland.

The HM Plant Honda rider, so used to the BSB spotlight as the two-time former champion and 2011 overall leader, was forced to play second fiddle at the Fife track to Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill.

While a high-speed crash ruined his qualifying- Byrne (pictured) started back in ninth - the imperious Hill was marching to pole position.

And that theme continued on race day with the Sittingbourne rider unable to live with his arch-rival, Hill claiming both wins with Byrne forced to settle for a second and third.

However despite his rivals’ dominance at round five Byrne still heads the overall standings – a place he insists he can be come the final podium shake-up after round 12 in October.

“Fair play to Tommy this weekend because he has ridden fantastically all weekend and he deserved to get the two wins,” said Byrne – who holds a 31-point lead over John Hopkins in second place.

“But in the second race when he went away from me I was thinking that I should make sure I got around and got myself some more podium credits and didn’t take too many risks.

“I thought, ‘Tommy has gone and he is away’ so it would be better to make sure I finished and make sure I had those podium credits because they are going to be really important this season.

“Then Michael Laverty started putting some pressure on me from third and keeping me pretty honest but all in all I have to be happy with my weekend.

“Tommy was too strong for us but maybe at some other tracks we can get our own back.”

British Eurosport 2 will be broadcasting every round of the 2011 British Superbike Championship. The channel is available on Sky 411 & Virgin Media 525. Watch online via the Eurosport Player (www.eurosportplayer.co.uk)