Kiyonari and Lavilla the victors at Mondello Park

HM Plant Honda Report

HM Plant Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari left his 2005 Bennetts British Superbike Championship rivals in no doubt that he had returned to the ultra-competitive series after an action-packed fifth round at Mondello Park. The Japanese rider scored an impressive victory and a third position while his team-mate Michael Rutter joined him on the podium for race one to maintain his championship lead.

Kiyonari grabbed the holeshot in the first leg from fourth place on the grid and led his first race at the 2.176-mile circuit from start to finish to take his fifth victory of the year. The 22-year-old was in a class of his own as he set an impressively consistent pace aboard the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade, proving to be untouchable by the rest of the pack.

Rutter recovered from a collision with Red Bull Honda's Jonathan Rea on the approach to the first corner on the opening lap to make it another HM Plant Honda Racing one-two – the third of the season. Rutter adopted a watching brief behind Kiyonari, Richards and Haslam, before the latter two made mistakes, which culminated in their early retirements.

Race two however was more challenging for the HM Plant Honda Racing duo. Kiyonari struggled to find a way past Leon Haslam before he lost out a further position to eventual race winner Gregorio Lavilla. The factory Fireblade rider had to settle for third after trying everything in his armoury to pass his adversaries on the tight and twisty circuit. Kiyonari's impressive points tally has moved him up to third overall in the championship, despite missing the last two rounds due to injury.

His HM Plant Honda Racing team-mate had to work hard in race two to recover from an indifferent start on the outside of the second row. By the time that Rutter had fought through to the end of the leading group, there was nothing that the popular Leicestershire rider could do about the podium battle in the closing stages and he had to settle for fifth. Rutter now takes a healthy 46-point lead to the next round at Croft in three weeks, but not before he competes in the non-championship International North West 200 in Northern Ireland next Saturday.

Michael Rutter: “I can’t really complain about today’s results. I gave myself a lot of work to do by failing to qualify on the front row and the competition was really strong here this weekend. The main thing is that I still have a strong advantage at the head of the championship standings. I’m looking forward to trying to extend that on the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade at Croft, where we went well last year.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari: “Today has been very difficult for me under the most challenging of conditions. It was the first time that I have completed two races since round two at Thruxton in early April. So, I was very tired towards the end of the second race. It was a new track for me and I found it difficult to learn. I don’t like to beaten in any circumstances, but I have to be happy with a first and a third today.”

Harris Continues Good Form

Karl Harris claimed fourth and seventh positions respectively at round five of the 2005 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Mondello Park today. Despite struggling to find a good set-up for the 2.176-mile track all weekend, the 25-year-old still managed to be a front-runner in the two dramatic 18-lap races won by Ryuichi Kiyonari and Gregorio Lavilla.

Harris was also at the disadvantage of starting from unfamiliar territory on row three of the grid. As ever, the determined Sheffield star took this in his stride and carved his way through to the leading pack in race one. He was running in sixth position when Glen Richards and Leon Haslam retired from the race after running off the track on lap 14. This allowed him to gain two places, which he maintained until the Honda-Racing.co.uk CBR1000RR Fireblade crossed the line, almost 20 seconds down on his fellow Honda rider Kiyonari.

Race two saw an indifferent start from the Yorkshireman, but undeterred he made his way forward from 11th position at the end of the opening lap to take a well deserved seventh place at the chequered flag. Despite lapping faster than in race one, Harris was unable to make up further ground on the race leaders aboard the Dunlop/BLD/Castrol-supported Fireblade.

Karl Harris: “I’m fairly happy with the results, considering the difficulties that we’ve had with the set-up on the Honda-Racing.co.uk CBR1000RR Fireblade this weekend. I scored some good points though and gained some more invaluable experience in the Superbike class. The competition has been really tough this weekend, so to remain inside the top seven in both races was still an achievement. I'd also like to thank the team for all of their hard work and Castrol for the additional support that they brought us this weekend.”

Red Bull Honda Report

Jonathan Rea’s hopes for the highest score of the season at Mondello Park today were dashed in both 18-lap races at the 2.176-mile circuit. The 18-year-old Ulsterman had looked strong all weekend at the Irish track – even securing his first pole position at the fifth round of the 2005 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

However, an indifferent start to race one saw the Ulster teenager get caught up in traffic before touching the back wheel of Michael Rutter and ending his race prematurely in the gravel on the way into the first corner. Rea returned uninjured to the grid for race two and his early progress looked much more promising.

The Ballyclare rider briefly took the holeshot from pole position before slipping back into second place. Despite moving further down the pack, Rea continued to hold his own against an array of more experienced contenders. The Red Bull Honda rider was running in sixth position on lap 14 when he was forced to retire due to an electrical problem with the CBR1000RR Fireblade.

Jonathan Rea: “I’m obviously disappointed with my race results, but I’ve also got a lot of positives to take away from this weekend. I scored my first pole position and proved that I am capable of running with the leading pack on the Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

"This is just reward for all the faith that Honda Racing and Red Bull have shown in me this season to give me such a good opportunity in the world's leading domestic Superbike championship. I’m looking forward to Croft now where I will hopefully qualify well and get back into the points."

Eugene Laverty has equalled his best result of the season at his home circuit of Mondello Park for round five of the ultra-competitive British Supersport Championship. The Toomebridge teenager passed the chequered flag in sixth position aboard the Red Bull Honda CBR600RR to move up to 11th position in the series overall.

The action-packed race saw Laverty get away from the grid in eighth place and maintain station behind the drama unfolding in the leading pack, which hit the Padgetts Honda team hard. Crashes by both Leon Camier and Jay Vincent elevated Laverty into sixth position.

The 18-year-old’s main challenge for the remainder of the 16-lap race at the 2.176-mile track was to defend his position. Despite attempts by Jamie Robinson to close down the gap between himself and the Red Bull Honda, Laverty hung on to cross the line ahead of his CBR600RR-mounted rival.

Eugene Laverty: “I’m really happy to have finished sixth. It’s a great result, especially for my home circuit because I have a lot of support here this weekend. Since finishing sixth at the opening round at Brands Hatch I have struggled to get close to that position again on the Red Bull Honda CBR600RR, so this is a real confidence boost for the team and I.”

Rizla Suzuki Report

RIZLA SUZUKI'S Scott Smart and James Haydon put on an inspired performance in the first race at today's fifth round of the British Superbike Championship at Mondello Park in Ireland.

Starting from 15th on the grid, James had fought his way to fifth by the penultimate lap - winning the hearts of the fans with his hard charging progress through the field. He challenged for fourth place with only four corners to go but ran wide and through a gravel trap, rejoining to claim 10th. In race two he slid off on the bumpy surface with just three laps to go while fighting in the top 10.

Scott enjoyed a close-fought battle in the opening race, completing the first lap in 14th but snatching an impressive fifth place finish. In the second event he made a slow start and after getting through the traffic he ran similar lap times as the leaders and managed to get up to 8th by the end. Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari won the opening race and Ducati's Gregorio Lavilla the second.

Rizla Suzuki is back on track on Tuesday, May 24th, for an official test at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire. Croft then hosts the sixth round of the British Superbike Championship on Sunday, June 5th, and Rizla Suzuki is hoping that British Superbike Champion John Reynolds will be fit to return to the action after missing the last two rounds while recovering from a broken right leg.

Scott: "I made some slow starts today and really suffered for that. When I got clear track in front of me in both races I was able to match the leaders for pace, but by then I was too far behind to make a challenge for the podium.

"We have a plan to test parts on the Rizla Suzuki and high on the list of areas we want to improve is my starts - we will have a look at different clutch settings to see what suits me best. I equaled my best result of the season today and that's an encouraging base to build on for the next round."

James: "I am sorry for the Rizla Suzuki team as we should have had much better results. Race one should've been fourth but I made a small mistake and ended up 10th. In the second race I came together with another rider in the second corner, snapping my brake lever for the second round in a row. I tried riding round the breakage and was going for 9th when I lost the rear at turn four and slid off the circuit. I'm gutted.

"Thanks to the entire Rizla Suzuki squad for this opportunity. I can tell you that if we get away with the leaders there is no question we can run with them - and beat them. The Rizla Suzuki is a fantastic package and the results will come."

Robert Wicks, Team Manager: "James and Scott were inspirational in the opening race of the day. For James to come from 15th on the grid and be within a whisker of taking fourth place on the last lap was awesome. The crowd went wild and you could hear the Rizla Suzuki fans cheering him on. Unfortunately he ran a little wide while trying to take fourth and ended up not getting the just rewards for his efforts. The second race saw that run of bad luck continue and he failed to finish despite posting quick lap times.

"Scott made the most of James running wide to pounce from seventh and take fifth in the opening race. In the next race he again proved he has the speed to match the front-runners but made a slow start and left himself with too much to do. We will go to the forthcoming Croft test with plenty of ideas to try to help him improve his starts.

"James has done a sterling job standing in for JR as he has been recovering from injury. We will run JR at the Croft test to evaluate his fitness. James and Scott shall also ride in the test and between them all we hope to make some solid progress in developing and setting the Rizla Suzukis up for the next round of the Championship at the same circuit on June 5th."

Dean Thomas

"Well what can I say I've had a nightmare day today and things just seem to have gone from bad to worse throughout the day. I ended up with a 15^th and 14^th places respectively in the two races, which are my worst two results for as long as I can remember. The weekend just didn't get any better from the start and I'm glad to be moving on from here and putting this round to the back of my mind. I can't put my finger on what the problem was which is even more frustrating and I'm hoping that we can rectify it before we go to Croft in three weeks time. I'm not overly keen on Mondello but never expected to get the results that I did and it was a real fight to salvage the results I got. It was a complete disaster and I can't let this effect my head going into the next few races. I just seemed to go backwards through the field in both races and was struggling with grip on the front and back end of the bike during both races which I haven’t suffered with all weekend and only occurred in race one which took me a little by surprise. I think the main problem was the track temperature, which was extremely high and my tyres were worn out very early on in both races. We’ll definitely be making a big effort to get things right before we go to Croft and I know that I can run well there, we have good weekends and bad ones and this was certainly one of the bad ones. We have a test at Croft next Tuesday (24^th May) so hopefully we should be able to sort a good set up out there."