Shakey Byrne: There's no clear title favourite... but pressure is on Ducati

Despite an influx of talent, including the likes of Scott Redding from MotoGP and Xavi Fores from World Superbikes, Byrne insists it is still incredibly tough to pick a winner such is the strength and depth of the championship.

Speaking on his brand new 'Shakey Show' podcast, which will be available the Wednesday after every BSB round this year, the 42-year-old said: “Unless I’m proven wrong by the Ducati V4R I don't think there is any bike in BSB at the moment that is night and day better than anything else.

“You’re gonna get guys saying, ‘oh well Scott Redding is from MotoGP, he’s going to come back and smoke it’.

“And you are going to get guys who will say ‘oh well Josh Brookes has got exactly what he asked for [in terms of bike] now, he’s gonna smoke it.’

“You might say Tarran MacKenzie, he’s had a year on the Yamaha, he’s got better and better and better – he’s ready for a championship challenge, or Xavi Fores, coming from World Superbikes, he’s going to smoke it’.

“There’s so many pluses and minuses for all of the riders… yeah, apart from the fact that I’m not actually racing I am genuinely pretty excited for the season to get started.”

And Byrne also believes all the pressure will be on his former team, run by Paul Bird Motorsport, with their star-studded line-up of Redding and 2015 champion Josh Brookes, especially because the way the new bike has performed in other competitions so far this season.

"You certainly feel for them a little bit," added Byrne. "Not only did Alvaro [Bautista] go out and win pretty much everything so far – Ducati won the first MotoGP race as well. They had Michele Pirro in the Italian championship – he gave the bike its debut wins in the Italian championship… so the pressure is well and truly on."

Byrne, who will join the Eurosport team for the upcoming season, also revealed his pain at not being able to race and said that his rehab is, at times, proving to be a ‘nightmare’. He has been ruled out for the season due to terrible back and neck injuries he picked up at Snetterton in a practice session last year.

He added: “It’s mixed emotions for me – it’s great to be working with Eurosport but my heart is in the race track!

“At the moment things are a bit of a nightmare but I’m still smiling and life’s not all bad, there are plenty of people worse off than me.”