Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne secures his sixth British Superbike Championship in a dramatic final race of the season at Brands Hatch.
Title challenger Leon Haslam crashed out on lap six to leave Byrne only requiring a top fifteen finish to secure the title.
The 2017 Champion said: “I’ve never defended a title before, this feels amazing, I can't believe we've done it!"
"I just tried to relax this weekend and enjoy riding my bike and it's paid off."
It was Josh Brookes who took the race victory, with Jason O’Halloran and James Ellison rounding out the podium.
McAMS Yamaha’s Michael Laverty finished in fourth ahead of the 2017 Riders Cup champion Christian Iddon (fifth) and Peter Hickman (sixth).
Dan Linfoot, Shane Byrne, Bradley Ray and Richard Cooper rounded out the top ten.
Race 3 Results
1 25 S 1 Josh BROOKES AUS Yamaha - Anvil Hire TAG Racing 20 28:59.284 100.72 1:25.509 10
2 22 S 2 Jason O'HALLORAN GBR Honda - Honda Racing 20 0.687 28:59.971 0.687 100.68 1:25.426 12
3 77 1 James ELLISON GBR Yamaha - McAMS Yamaha 20 0.857 29:00.141 0.170 100.67 1:25.464 11
4 7 2 Michael LAVERTY GBR Yamaha - McAMS Yamaha 20 1.929 29:01.213 1.072 100.61 1:25.587 10
5 24 3 Christian IDDON GBR BMW - Tyco BMW Motorrad 20 2.144 29:01.428 0.215 100.60 1:25.664 12
6 60 S 3 Peter HICKMAN GBR BMW - Smiths Racing 20 5.254 29:04.538 3.110 100.42 1:25.638 3
7 4 4 Dan LINFOOT GBR Honda - Honda Racing 20 5.281 29:04.565 0.027 100.42 1:25.574 4
8 67 S 4 Shane BYRNE GBR Ducati - Be Wiser Ducati Racing Team 20 6.512 29:05.796 1.231 100.35 1:25.678 2
9 28 5 Bradley RAY GBR Suzuki - Buildbase Suzuki 20 6.923 29:06.207 0.411 100.32 1:25.484 2
10 47 6 Richard COOPER GBR Suzuki - Bennetts Suzuki 20 7.628 29:06.912 0.705 100.28 1:25.801 4
11 50 7 Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Suzuki - Bennetts Suzuki 20 12.176 29:11.460 4.548 100.02 1:26.156 11
12 27 S 5 Jake DIXON GBR Kawasaki - RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki 20 13.853 29:13.137 1.677 99.93 1:25.946 4
13 2 8 Glenn IRWIN GBR Ducati - Be Wiser Ducati Racing Team 20 13.923 29:13.207 0.070 99.92 1:25.988 4
14 14 9 Lee JACKSON GBR BMW - Smiths Racing 20 14.013 29:13.297 0.090 99.92 1:26.145 4
15 46 10 Tommy BRIDEWELL GBR Kawasaki - Team WD-40 20 14.369 29:13.653 0.356 99.90 1:26.024 3
16 96 11 Jakub SMRZ CZE BMW - Lloyd & Jones PR Racing BMW 20 16.633 29:15.917 2.264 99.77 1:26.233 9
17 12 12 Luke MOSSEY GBR Kawasaki - JG Speedfit Kawasaki 20 22.910 29:22.194 6.277 99.41 1:26.244 3
18 97 13 Kyle RYDE GBR Kawasaki - Quattro Plant FS-3 Racing Kawasaki 20 27.895 29:27.179 4.985 99.13 1:26.866 3
19 40 14 Martin JESSOPP GBR BMW - RidersMotorcycles.com BMW 20 27.955 29:27.239 0.060 99.13 1:26.315 9
20 11 15 Michael RUTTER GBR BMW - Bathams SMT 20 29.257 29:28.541 1.302 99.06 1:27.066 2
21 5 16 James WESTMORELAND GBR Kawasaki - Gearlink Kawasaki 20 29.885 29:29.169 0.628 99.02 1:27.314 10
22 64 17 Aaron ZANOTTI GBR Yamaha - Platform Hire Yamaha 20 31.125 29:30.409 1.240 98.95 1:27.133 9
23 9 18 Dean HARRISON GBR Kawasaki - Silicone Engineering Racing 20 34.970 29:34.254 3.845 98.74 1:27.622 14
24 8 19 Shaun WINFIELD GBR Yamaha - Anvil Hire TAG Racing 20 57.297 29:56.581 22.327 97.51 1:27.934 4
Championship Standings
1. Shane BYRNE (Ducati) 637
2. Josh BROOKES (Yamaha) 634
3. Leon HASLAM (Kawasaki) 631
4. Peter HICKMAN (BMW) 578
5. Jason O'HALLORAN (Honda) 567
6. Jake DIXON (Kawasaki) 562
7. Christian IDDON (BMW) 238
8. James ELLISON (Yamaha) 228
9. Luke MOSSEY (Kawasaki) 186
10. Dan LINFOOT (Honda) 163
11. Bradley RAY (Suzuki) 140
12. Glenn IRWIN (Ducati) 132
13. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Suzuki) 131
14. Michael LAVERTY (Yamaha) 125
15. John HOPKINS (Ducati) 122
16. Lee JACKSON (BMW) 96
17. Tommy BRIDEWELL (Kawasaki) 83
18. Jakub SMRZ (BMW) 65
19. Taylor MACKENZIE (Suzuki) 35
20. James WESTMORELAND (Kawasaki) 25
21. Martin JESSOPP (BMW) 22
22. Billy McCONNELL (Kawasaki) 21
23. Richard COOPER (Suzuki) 20
24. Davide GIUGLIANO (BMW) 10
