Kiyonari under lap record in Mallory first practice

Ryuichi Kiyonari, the 22 year old Japanese rider who is currently unbeaten in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, shattered the Mallory Park lap record during practice for Sunday’s double race third round.

The HM Plant Honda racer lapped consistently through the two sessions, making inroads on the record held by his team-mate Michael Rutter who lives adjacent to the Leicestershire circuit.

Rutter, currently third in the rankings, is intent on getting his title bid back on track in these races, but, Kiyonari is promising a tough time for all-comers, underlining that with a brilliant lap of the 1.39 mile circuit in 51.416secs, an average speed of 97.32mph.

“Last year here, circuit was difficult but I got good results – I put in many practice\ laps before the races to get to know better. I want better results, but many good riders out there make that hard,” smiled Kiyonari.

Dean Thomas, the Australian riding Hawk Kawasaki, closed within a tenth of a second of Kiyonari, marginally faster than the Fireblade ridden by former triple Supersport champion Karl Harris, both of whom were just inside the record.

Dean Thomas, "The weather here is mega and the track is really dry and the track temperature is perfect. We changed the gearing on the bike to it's original settings and now Glen and I are riding on pretty much the same set up and I feel extremely confident now with the bike and I have finally settled in quite nicely. I'm just hoping that it will stay dry for the rest of the weekend and that I can get some good positive, confident results for the weekend. I'm really fired up for it and fingers crossed it will all go well."

Completing a good day for the Hawk Kawasaki team, Glen Richards was fourth fastest, ahead of Scott Smart and Leon Haslam.

Scott Smart, "We have started here where we left off at Thruxton - basically we have a good base set-up and we are now refining it for the demands of a tight, twisty and bumpy Mallory Park circuit. I am looking for more stability under braking and working on the suspension of my Rizla Suzuki to give me more speed through the corners. We will be trying different rear tyres and some changes to the front suspension tomorrow to try and cut our lap times."

Gregorio Lavilla, who trails Kiyonari 100-72 in the title stakes was eighth best on the day that the Airwaves Ducati team confirmed he would be riding for them for the remainder of the season at the expense of James Haydon.

The Spaniard has not finished outside the top four while deputising for the injured Haydon, who according to a team statement as ‘stood-down.’

Reigning champion John Reynolds, delighted that the broken bones in his right leg are healing well, was tenth fastest aboard the Rizla Suzuki, but there were more problems for former Grand Prix rider Jeremy McWilliams whose Stobart Honda was back in twentieth place, with a time of 53.217s, some 1.8 seconds down on Kiyonari’s best.

John Reynolds - "We worked on the balance of my GSX-R1000 and made big improvements as the day progressed. We have lengthened the wheelbase to add stability and that allows me to drive out of corners quicker. Backmarkers were a real issue for me today, I just couldn't get a single clear lap. It didn't feel like a closed circuit, it was more like the M25 on a Friday afternoon out there!"

Paul Young (Aus) was quickest in 1,000cc Superstock division with compatriots David Johnson and Rory Rock were 8th and 19th respectively. Young Matthew Kuhne was inside the top 20 in 125 GP qualifying.

Superbike Practice

Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 51:415s
Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +0.113
Karl Harris (Honda) +0.271
Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +0.495
Scott Smart (Suzuki) +0.553
Leon Haslam (Ducati) +0.594
Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.618
Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.939
Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) +0.991
John Reynolds (Suzuki) +1.068.

Supersport Practice

Camier 53.2
Sykes 52.3
Vincent 53.4
Jones 53.5
Riba 53.6
Young 53.7
Robinson 53.8
Crutchlow 53.9
Andrews 53.9
Laverty 53.9

Superstock 1,000cc

Young 53.8
Jackson 54.1
Fitzpatrick 54.2
Tinsley 54.3
Rainey 54.5
Coates 54.7
Neill 54.8
Johnson 54.8
Shand 55.1
Davies 55.1