James Haydon set the fastest ever two-wheeled lap of the Brands Hatch grand prix circuit to claim pole start for the double race finale to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship – the Rizla Suzuki rider upstaged the title chasing duo of Gregorio Lavilla and Ryuichi Kiyonari who again had contrasting fortunes.

Neither of the leading duo in the title stakes could match the raw speed of Hayden, who not only gave the Suzuki team their first pole of the campaign, but enjoyed topping qualifying for the first time ever in Superbikes.

Haydon powered around the 2.623 mile Kent grand prix circuit in 1m 25.920secs, an average speed of 109.28mph: “Unbelievable – I knew it was a good lap, but not that good. The team has worked hard for me to achieve that, and I have to thank them for that, and also say a big thank you to Dunlop for the tyres.”

There were also words from Haydon for his team-mate, John Reynolds, who is hospitalised after a heavy crash in free practice: He’s a great guy and we miss him - I would like to dedicate that lap to him and wish him a speedy recovery.”

The outgoing champion sustained multiple rib fractures, a punctured lung and broken collar-bone and will not see the continuing shoot-out for the crown in which Lavilla now has the upper-hand.

The Spanish rider has a 13 points advantage over Kiyonari, and also was comfortably the faster of the two in qualifying. The Airwaves Ducati rider was fourth fastest, with a lap of 1m 26.331secs, marginally down on his team-mate Leon Haslam and Karl Harris, riding Honda, but, importantly he has a front row start.

“Yes, I am in a good position, but nothing can be taken for granted,” said Lavilla. “We have worked hard, and I will be trying very hard to take the title and will see how the races develop – I know what I have to do.”

Kiyonari was struggling. In the morning, a broken chain cost him track time, but although he improved his lap times in the second session, he was making little progress on a track that he find difficult to ride.

That was reflected in his best time, 1m 26.922secs, tenth on the leaderboard, with a third row start, alongside his HM Plant Honda team-mate Michael Rutter, Sean Emmett and the returning former Grand Prix rider Jeremy McWilliams .

In between the exciting Japanese rider who has won a dozen times this season is a tough second row. Both Hawk Kawasaki riders, Dean Thomas and Glen Richards, despite a couple of tumbles over the weekend, are there, together with Gary Mason on the Stobart Honda and the Virgin Mobile Samsung Yamaha of Tommy Hill.

With James Buckingham, already assured of the British Superbike Cup, stepping in to ride the second Rizla Suzuki in place of the injured Reynolds, and running 22nd fastest, Danny Beaumont was the top privateer in qualifying, 16th overall, with a lap of 1m 27.885secs, just ahead of Marty Nutt.

HM Plant Honda Report

The heat is on in the battle for the 2005 Bennetts British Superbike Championship between series leader Gregorio Lavilla and HM Plant Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari. Today’s qualifying sessions were vital as the title rivals prepared for tomorrow’s final two races of the season over the 2.6-mile Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

With only 13 points between the Spanish and Japanese stars, there is still everything to play for in tomorrow’s two 20-lap races. However, Kiyonari will be forced to start from the third row of the grid after qualifying in tenth position, alongside his HM Plant Honda Racing team-mate Michael Rutter.

Kiyonari was in a provisional 11th place with a time of 1:27.485 after this morning’s first qualifying period. The 23-year-old worked hard with his crew on the set-up of the HRC-prepared CBR1000RR Fireblade between sessions. He was rewarded with an improved position and time of 1:26.922 – one second down on pole position James Haydon.

Rutter maintained station in ninth place despite also improving his time in the afternoon qualifying session. The 32-year-old Midlander powered the HM Plant Honda around the Kent circuit 0.648 seconds faster than he had done in the first session to remain close to his team-mate on row three.

HM Plant Honda Racing has already been a dominant force during qualifying for the world’s leading domestic Superbike championship. Three pole positions apiece for Kiyonari and Rutter – and 11 other front row starts – have helped to propel the factory Fireblades into second and third positions respectively in the overall points table.

Kiyonari has also collected the Audi Quattro Performance Award for his superior positions and results in all aspects of the 13-round championship. As the rider with the highest number of points for the best times in qualifying, pole positions, race wins and fastest laps, the HM Plant Honda Racing star has already secured a decisive advantage to win an Audi TT Quattro worth £40,000.

Michael Rutter: “With any chance of the championship now gone, I am hoping to finish my second season with HM Plant Honda Racing on a positive note. The CBR1000RR Fireblade is going well and we have been working hard with Michelin to find the best set-up. We’ve gone well here in the past, so hopefully we’ll be able to carry that form into tomorrow’s two Superbike races.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari: “This is a difficult circuit for me. Although I won both races over the Indy track at the start of the season, I have not got the same experience over the Grand Prix layout. However, thanks to the hard work of HM Plant Honda Racing, we are heading in the right direction. The CBR1000RR feels good in some sections, but my times don’t reflect this.”

Rizla Suzuki Report

RIZLA SUZUKI’S James Haydon took a brilliant maiden pole position and set the fastest ever two-wheel lap of Brands Hatch in today’s qualification for the 13th and final round of the British Superbike Championship.

Haydon set his record-beating lap in the morning session to take Rizla Suzuki’s first pole position of the 2005 season. His lap-times on race rubber were equally impressive, marking another step forward for the GSX-R1000.

James Buckingham, standing in for the injured John Reynolds, made steady progress in qualification and will start from 22nd on the grid. JR remains in a stable condition in the Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford after his heavy crash yesterday during first practice.

Superbike racing starts at 1315 on Sunday, October 9th, at the 2.6-mile long Brands Hatch GP circuit in Kent. It will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and then on Channel 4 one week later as a highlights package.

James Haydon:
“We made a step forward in performance at the last round and we’ve made more improvements here this weekend. I’m absolutely delighted with my Rizla Suzuki. Now we have found what we have been looking for and the GSX-R1000 is a fantastic package that is a pleasure to ride.

“A huge thank you to the Rizla Suzuki team for working so hard and making the improvements to get us to pole position. It’s my first ever pole position in BSB and the fastest ever lap of Brands GP circuit to boot – I couldn’t be happier.”

James Buckingham:
“The Rizla Suzuki is really quite different to my normal Suzuki race bike and it is taking time for me to get used to it.

“I built myself up gradually through both qualifying sessions and I could really do with another session to get completely up to speed. We made a lot of changes to set-up today and I’m going faster and faster every lap. I’ll be using tomorrow’s warm-up session to improve further and I’m looking forward to race day.”

Robert Wicks, Team Manager:
“Well done to James Haydon and the Rizla Suzuki team for today’s outstanding performance and delivering our first pole position of the season. James is extremely happy with the development of his GSX-R1000 and that shows in his lap times. We are all hoping he can replicate his pole with a front-running performance tomorrow.

“James Buckingham is having to learn about a bike with very different characteristics to his own in a very short period of time. He’s improving all the time and will continue to do so in warm-up and the races as he becomes more familiar with the Rizla Suzuki. His experience on the GSX-R at Castle Combe earlier in the year should hopefully stand him in good stead for tomorrow’s races.

“Our thoughts at this time remain with JR for a speedy recovery. We know he is receiving expert care and his wife Shelly has now joined him from Nottingham. His condition remains stable and a good sign is that there has been no immediate need to transfer him for further assessment, though this will almost certainly take place in the coming days purely as a precautionary measure.”