Ryuichi Kiyonari scored a magnificent double victory in front of thousands of sun-drenched fans at the first round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch. The 22-year-old Lincolnshire-based rider led both 30-lap races from start to finish on his immaculately prepared HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR. His team-mate Michael Rutter provided ample support with fourth and second places respectively.

The first Superbike race of the season saw Kiyonari take the holeshot from Glen Richards with Rutter adopting a watching brief in third at the end of a hectic first lap. The Japanese star took the early initiative in the 30-lap race and powered his HM Plant Honda into a commanding position after breaking the lap record on the second and third laps. Maintaining a comfortable advantage for the majority of the season-opener, Kiyonari was in a class of his own.

Rutter meanwhile was embroiled in a tense battle for second place with Gregorio Lavilla and Richards. The 31-year-old Midlander lost out in the battle for the two remaining podium positions after the dicing trio encountered some backmarkers in the closing stages of the 30-lap Superbike opener.

Leg two opened in similar fashion to the first, with Kiyonari showing a clean pair of heels to what is generally considered to be the strongest British Superbike field in years. He set a hot pace with amazing consistency and pulled out a comfortable winning margin on the HRC-prepared factory Fireblade.

The second HM Plant Honda was also on a charge with Rutter determined to improve on his first race position. Third at the end of lap one, last season’s British Superbike runner-up tracked Sean Emmett before making a successful passing manoeuvre on lap 15 at Paddock Hill Bend. He used the superior power and handling characteristics of his CBR1000RR Fireblade in the second half of the race to take 20 deserved points.

Michael Rutter: “Under the circumstances I was happy with how I performed in the first race. I had to work really hard with the HM Plant Honda to keep up with Lavilla and Richards. However, we knew that we could improve the set-up for race two and so it proved. There was nothing that I could do about Kiyo though. He was superb in both races today and I’ve got to work hard at Thruxton to close the points gap.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari: “I am obviously very happy with how things have gone for me today. I felt that I had to get off the line quickly because I was worried about how fast the other riders are here at Brands Hatch. I was pleasantly surprised by how far in front I was in each race, because I actually find this circuit quite challenging. I would like to thank the HM Plant Honda Racing team for helping to find such a good race set-up which made all the difference to me. It’s good to have made such a good start to the season and I hope that I can carry this level of performance on to Thruxton.”

Karl Harris secured two strong points-scoring finishes on his Honda-Racing.co.uk CBR1000RR Fireblade.  The 25-year-old Sheffield star made an immediate impact in the world’s leading domestic Superbike series by collecting two sixth places and 20 invaluable points towards his championship challenge.

Harris made a confident start to his first Superbike race for Honda-Racing.co.uk and maintained his qualifying position of eighth at the end of an action-packed first lap. He had almost collided with Leon Haslam after the former World Superbike rider made a mistake on the exit of Graham Hill Bend. The back-to-back British Supersport Champion recovered from this minor setback and carved his way through a highly competitive field to take a deserved top six finish on his CBR1000RR Fireblade.

The start of the second leg went according to plan and Harris was dicing with the leading group of riders in the early stages of the 30-lap race. When the dust settled, the Honda-Racing.co.uk rider emerged from a tense battle of Britain’s finest Superbike riders to take his second sixth place finish of the day.

Karl Harris: “I’m pleased with how it’s gone overall today. The first race result wasn’t so bad after I became tangled up with Leon Haslam on the first lap. I was determined to do better in the second leg and that’s how it turned out in terms of my performance. I felt that I rode better when you consider who finished the second leg and that’s a tribute to how well the Honda-Racing.co.uk Fireblade performed over race distance. This has been an ideal start to my British Superbike campaign and it has given me the confidence from which to build upon these results.”

Rizla Suzuki British Superbike Champion John Reynolds scored two heroic top 10 finishes while racing with a broken right leg.

During the weekend JR went from 21st after first practice, to 12th on the grid, to two ninth-place finishes in the races. He battled through the pain barrier and refused to give in to his injured right leg or his rivals, fighting every lap of both races and scoring valuable Championship points in front of a huge 50,000-strong crowd.

JR has an appointment with his surgeon on Wednesday and is planning on resting for the next two weeks to build his strength for the second round of the series.

Rizla Suzuki racer Scott Smart crashed out of the season opener on lap six when he had to brake mid-corner to avoid colliding with another rider, hurting his left wrist and straining his back in the process. A still sore Smart started from third place on the front row in the second race and bravely finished in a solid eighth place to get his Championship challenge off the ground.

John Reynolds: "I am happy to have scored points today but in my heart I really wanted to be racing at the front. In fairness, the limiting factor today wasn't the pain in my right leg, it was the lack of ground clearance on right hand corners because I was wearing a huge boot and cast that was dragging on the track. Put simply, I couldn't lean my Rizla Suzuki any further and that was costing me time everywhere.

"Saying that, my Rizla Suzuki technicians have been beyond brilliant this weekend. They have accommodated my injury and gave me a fantastic GSX-R1000 to race. They even gave me reinforced toe-sliders so I could complete 30-laps without wearing through my entire right boot! Well done to the team and thank you for having the belief in me to race - the 14-points I've scored today could make all the difference at the end of the season."

Scott Smart: "I'm disappointed in my results today because my Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000, my team and myself were capable of much better - we proved that by qualifying third on the grid.

"Race one was unfortunate as I crashed avoiding another rider and hurt my left wrist and back. In race two I was mugged in the first two laps and found myself down in 12th. I felt weak because of my injuries but as the race wore on I built up my confidence and started to get a move on and that's very encouraging. We are matching the Rizla Suzuki to my riding style and we will make very fast progress thanks to all the data we've got this weekend."

Ex GP pilot Jeremy McWilliams' start to the British Superbike season was less than stellar with the Ulsterman recording a best result of seventh place in the opening race at Brands Hatch.

In the opening race McWilliams battled to seventh while in the second outing McWilliams was not too far behind the leading bunch before crashing out at Clearways after tangling with a back marker.

“I’m not sure I agree with the Blue Flag where riders are told to hold their line as it makes it very difficult to pass when there is only one line. I was trying to take every possible advantage and I went underneath (Richard) Wren and got my front wheel in front of him but he held his line and we came together and both ended up crashing out. I’m pretty disappointed because the best we could have hoped for was seventh or eighth position but we would have taken the points anyhow but we’ve still got a bit of a way to go yet” said a battered and bruised McWilliams.

In the 125 ranks young Queenslander Matt Kuhne recovered from 23rd position on the grid and a terrible start to push through the pack for 14th place in the red flag shortened encounter.

The second round of the British Superbike Championship is at Rizla Suzuki's home track of Thruxton in Hampshire on April 10th.