Shane Byrne began road racing locally in 1996, with his career kicking into gear in 1998 with a title win his first year in British Supersport. He moved to the British Superbike Championship midway through 1999 and finished 4th in 2002 on a works Ducati, taking the title the next year on the same machinery. He entered MotoGP with the Aprilia team in 2004 though missed several races through injury. 2005 saw him racing with Team Roberts KTM until mid-season when KTM withdrew. He replaced an injured Troy Bayliss later that year for Malaysia and Qatar, finishing 14th and 13th.