Ryuichi Kiyonari charged to a brilliant winning double in the seventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, finishing comfortably ahead of his HM Plant Honda team-mate Michael Rutter, at Knockhill.

The 22 year old Japanese rider forged clear from his pole position in each of the 30 lap races, winning the first by twelve seconds, and then taking the second race by seven seconds.

“It was very hard for me – Michael is riding fast and well, so it was necessary for me to get away and ride hard and well to keep clear of him,” smiled Kiyonari who has now won eight races this season.

Rutter admitted: “I have do something about him – I can’t let him keep getting away like this and need to start winning some races.”

The two Honda riders romped clear of the pack, twice in the opener, Kiyonari broke the lap record and then Rutter in his vain pursuit in the second race reduced the record to 49.651seconds, an average speed of 94.15mph.

It left the rest playing catch-up, but Michael Laverty was rising to the challenge, taking his and the Stobart Honda team’s first podium of the season with a first race third.

“That result has been coming for a little while now,” reflected the Ulsterman. “I wasn’t comfortable at the start, but then settled into a rhythm, having taken a few laps to size up the opposition. The bike is improving all of the time, and there will be more to come.”

Laverty was true to his word, taking fourth place next time out, marginally down on Gregorio Lavilla aboard the Airwaves Ducati who was still suffering the after effects of a hand injury sustained in the opening round.

“I had some more treatment between the races and found then I could go a second a lap faster – these were my first races here, so I have to be realistic and be happy with third place.”

Lavilla is now third in the title stakes, on 216 points, being overtaken by the rampant Kiyonari who at the halfway point in the series trails Rutter 275-232 in the title stakes.

James Buckingham took a winning British Superbike Cup double aboard the Quay Garage Suzuki, finishing ahead of Steve Brogan in the opener, and then Marty Nutt to tighten his grip on the trophy.

Dean Thomas

"I'm disappointed in my results today I got two tenth places which certainly isn't ideal for my Championship standings as Michael Laverty is now closing in on me. I had a few problems with the gear box throughout the weekend and it was a problem that seemed to carry on into the first race.

"I managed to get a great start and I was sitting in third behind the two Honda's, Haslam managed to get underneath me on lap seven. I felt strong and comfortable but started having a few issues with the gear box before half distance and kept hitting false neutrals.

"I was battling away when Johnny Rea out braked himself going into the first corner running me wide onto the grass and I lost 5 places in the proceeding. I was very angry as there are not many passing places around Knockhill, I slipped further back down the when my tyres started to wear 6 laps from the end.

"I had to go out on my number two bike during the second race and it seems as soon as the tyres wear off we struggle for grip. I got another good start and was lying in fourth place, my number two bike isn't quite the same as the number one bike. I started well but soon dropped off the pace even though I was going faster than what I did in the first race.

"We have Snetterton in a few weeks time so hopefully I can get back on the pace there and sort myself out a bit. It's been a tricky weekend and I just wish I could have come away with a couple more points than what I did."

Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki's John Reynolds proved the injury that has dogged him all season is now history after claiming hard-fought sixth and seventh place finishes in today's seventh round of the British Superbike Championship at a sun-drenched Knockhill circuit in Scotland.

In front of a bumper crowd of 20,000 fans, JR took seventh in the opening race after being in contention for the podium for most of the 30-laps. In race two he forced himself to be more aggressive and was running comfortably in fourth and challenging for third until getting tangled with back-makers. He brought his Rizla Suzuki home sixth for a new season personal best result.

Rizla Suzuki ace James Haydon crashed out of fourth early in the opening race. In the second event he started on his spare bike and suffered brake problems from the outset, dropping to 12th before showing his fighting spirit and climbing back to eighth by the chequered flag. Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari won both races.

You can catch highlights of today's Superbike race action on Channel 4 next Sunday morning. JR celebrates his 40th birthday tomorrow before going straight back to work when Rizla Suzuki travels to Croft in North Yorkshire for a Dunlop tyre test on Tuesday, June 28th. The eighth round of the BSB Championship takes place at Snetterton in Norfolk on Sunday, July 10th.

JR: "I am proving that no matter who you are, even if you are the champion, you cannot afford to take eight months off from racing and expect to return and win races straight away. It just isn't possible when you are racing some of the best riders in the world.

"The good news is that I am on the comeback trail and have made enormous progress this weekend. I'm still not as sharp as I would like to be but that is coming back quickly - from race one to two there was a noticeable improvement. My Rizla Suzuki is great, the team has supported me through thick and thin and now we are close to getting the results we deserve. I think it could all come good at Snetterton and that's what I am aiming for."

James: "In race one I ran into Butchers corner a bit hot and lost the front end while in fourth. That was really frustrating as my Rizla Suzuki felt great and I was up for a fight.

"Right from the start in race two my front brakes were not as consistent or powerful as I was used to in the first race. It took me several laps to gauge the braking power and distance and by then was back in 12th. Once I got going I was able to move up through the field and post fast lap times, which is encouraging. I think we have made good progress with my Rizla Suzuki this weekend - roll on Snetterton."

Dave Marton; Technical Support: "Rizla Suzuki goes to Croft for a single day Dunlop test on Tuesday in a positive mood. JR is coming back to form and in race two today he was consistently fast lap after lap and showed great aggression. More time on his bike is what he needs and that will sharpen him up for the second half of the season.

"James made enormous progress throughout the weekend and is showing an incredible turn of speed on his Rizla Suzuki. At the Croft test James will have more track time to acquaint himself with the bike and that will pay dividends.

"Overall an impressive effort from both riders and the team - and our best results of the season to date when you look at the meeting as a whole. We are closer to the front-runners than at any other time this year and the momentum is now moving forward. We'll be looking for a similar step up in performance when we race at Snetterton in two week's time." 

HM Plant Honda

Ryuichi Kiyonari and Michael Rutter continued their domination of the 2005 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill today. The HM Plant Honda Racing team-mates took a double one-two with Kiyonari securing his third double victory of the season – an impressive hat-trick by anyone’s standards!

The 22-year-old Japanese rider led both 30-lap races from start to finish to take a maximum haul of 50 points. The factory Fireblade rider has now won 80 per cent of the races that he has started and closed the gap on his championship leading team-mate to 43 points.

The first race was a HM Plant Honda Racing benefit. Kiyonari continually broke the late Steve Hislop’s outgoing lap record. His fastest time of 0:49.787 on lap six was just one of many sub-50 second laps – a truly outstanding performance on the HRC-supported Fireblade in front of 15,000 sun-drenched fans.

Rutter was in hot pursuit of his team-mate in the early stages. However, the 32-year-old Midlander was unable to sustain the Saitama star’s lap record pace. He settled into a good rhythm on his HM Plant Honda and pulled out a sizeable gap on third-placed Michael Laverty on a Stobart Honda. This was a superb result for Honda and its all-conquering CBR1000RR Fireblade.

The same outcome was almost inevitable in race two. Kiyonari shot into an early lead, but Rutter applied more pressure in the first half of the race and broke the lap record on lap three with a blistering time of 0:49.651. However, the number six HM Plant Honda responded with an amazingly consistent display of inch perfect riding over the 1.3-mile Fife circuit.

Michael Rutter: “I tried to keep it going in both races but there was nothing that I could do about Kiyo today – he was unbeatable! I may have a significant points advantage but I can’t keep letting him win like this. My plan was to try to get in front of him in the early laps but that was difficult after he got the holeshot in both races. I’m gutted that I wasn’t able to make more of an impression, but our results show what a good package HM Plant Honda Racing and Michelin have given us this year.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari: “I managed to get a fast start to both races. After that Michael rode hard and put me under a lot of pressure. He’s leading the championship and riding well on the CBR1000RR Fireblade. I knew that he would try to force me into an error and this made it very difficult for me. However, I am very happy with my performance today and I would like to thank everyone associated with HM Plant Honda Racing and the British fans for their invaluable support.”

Karl Harris

Karl Harris competed courageously against the odds in the seventh round of the 2005 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill. His eighth and 11th places do not reflect the effort that the 25-year-old Sheffield star expended in relative discomfort due to a rib injury sustained three weeks ago at Croft.

Starting from his qualifying position of ninth on the grid, Harris made good progress throughout the first race. Eleventh at the end of the first lap, the gritty Yorkshireman powered his Dunlop/BLD-backed CBR1000RR Fireblade up to eighth position at the end of 30 laps around the 1.3-mile Fife circuit.

In the second leg, Harris battled against his Superbike adversaries – and the pain from his injury. After settling down into the race in a group that included James Haydon and fellow Honda rider Jonathan Rea, Harris struggled to maintain their pace. He was forced to ride with a degree of caution to take five hard-earned points for 11th position at the chequered flag.

Karl Harris: “It was hard work today. I didn’t think that the injury would cause me so much grief but it did! I had particular trouble breathing, which in turn made changing the direction of the bike a real chore. It’s been a frustrating weekend for me but at least I’ve been able to maintain my top six position in the championship overall. I am now going to have a period of rest in order to get fit for the next round at Snetterton.”

Red Bull Honda

It was a day of mixed fortunes for Red Bull Honda’s Jonathan Rea at the seventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill. The 18-year-old Ballyclare rider crashed out of a front running position in race one but bounced back in the second leg to take his third top ten finish of the season.

The first race ended in frustration for the Red Bull Honda rider, but not before he had once again established his credentials as one of the brightest prospects in the world’s leading domestic Superbike series. An excellent start from the front row of the grid saw him take an early fourth position behind Ryuichi Kiyonari and Michael Rutter’s HM Plant Hondas and Dean Thomas.

An error on lap two at the hairpin relegated the young Ulsterman to sixth place, but he was soon back on Thomas’ case using the power and handling characteristics of his CBR1000RR Fireblade to best effect. An aggressive overtake on the Australian at Scotsman Corner on lap 10 elevated Rea back up to fourth position – one lap before his unfortunate crash at the same corner.

Rea understandably rode with more caution in race two. Seventh at the end of lap one, he spent most of the race contesting the lower leaderboard positions with James Haydon, Dean Thomas and Karl Harris. He got the better of Thomas and Harris to take a deserved ninth place finish behind Haydon.

Jonathan Rea: “At the start of the year, my target was to improve my qualifying performances because I felt that I could run at a top ten pace. I feel that I proved that again today. I was perhaps a bit over-aggressive in the first race and that led me to adopt a more cautious approach to the second leg. I’m now looking forward to the next round at Snetterton with renewed endeavour.”

Red Bull Honda’s Eugene Laverty took an impressive fifth position at the seventh round of the Metabo British Supersport Championship at Knockhill in a shortened 17-lap race won by fellow Honda rider Leon Camier. The Toomebridge teenager scored 11 invaluable points and moved into the top ten of the series after a superb performance.

An eventful Supersport event was cut from 28 laps when the original race was stopped due to an incident at the hairpin. Laverty had started from his qualifying position of sixth, but a first lap excursion off the track meant that he was down in 13th when the red flags were shown on lap 14.

However, in typical Laverty fashion he fought hard to regain his rightful place in the top six after the restart. Eleventh after one circuit of the undulating 1.3-mile track, Laverty powered through the field on his Red Bull Honda CBR600RR and passed Pere Riba to move into fifth position with four laps remaining.

Hot in pursuit of fourth-placed Jamie Robinson, Laverty narrowly missed out on improving his result by one further position. Nevertheless, the talented 19-year-old was delighted with his best result of the season to date.

Eugene Laverty: “That was some race! The restart certainly worked in my favour, but I’ll take that after some of the bad luck I’ve had this season. I was really fired up after being forced to run on to the grass and rejoin the first race at the back of the field. I’m obviously happy to have recorded my best finish of the year, but it could have been fourth if I had had another lap to pass Robinson.”

Eugene Laverty was relegated from fifth to sixth position on the starting grid after Pere Riba was reinstated overnight. The Spanish rider had originally been penalised for a technical infringement, but this was withdrawn.

Chris Jones continued his impressive run of form in the British 125GP Championship after finishing third behind Kev Coghlan and James Westmoreland at Knockhill today. Fresh from his debut victory at Croft three weeks ago, Jones further proved why he was selected as a rookie in the Red Bull Honda team when he matched his qualifying performance over race distance.

The 14-year-old Droitwich rider had a lonely race after tucking into third place behind the two leaders on the opening lap. The number nine Red Bull Honda RS125 maintained station throughout the 24-lap race at the 1.3-mile Scottish circuit.

Jones took his third podium finish of his debut year in the 13-round Honda-dominated series at the chequered flag. The rookie’s growing maturity and confidence were clearly evident as he continues to develop his promising career as an integral part of the Red Bull Honda team.

Chris Jones: “That was a relatively incident-free race for me today. It certainly makes a change! I knew after a few laps that there was nothing I could do about the two leaders. So I settled into a rhythm and maintained my concentration throughout. My reward is another podium finish and some invaluable points towards my championship challenge.”

Dave Johnson

22-year-old Hinckley based rider Dave Johnson crashed out of 3rd place at the seventh round of the Metzeler National Superstock Championship at Knockhill at the weekend. Racing for Stoke-on-Trent based Xpress Racing Johnson was tied up in a 14-wheel battle for third place and it was looking like a secured podium until the front end tucked on him.

Setting the fastest lap of the race on lap four, Johnson was looking smooth and eager for a podium placing. He was holding his own well aboard the Drayton Croft/Xpress Racing backed Suzuki GSX-R1000 however, Johnson was disappointed not to have finished.

The weekend had run well up to that point and the young Australian had qualified in 5th on the grid. After gaining an encouraging start Johnson was dicing for the lead and was locked in an eight-bike battle at one point, which could have swung either way. As the riders bashed fairings and exchanged colour schemes the likeable Aussie had settled into a rhythm. It was on lap 22 when Johnson slid out of the race, fortunately not damaging himself and with minimal damage to the bike.

Speaking with him he said 'I was feeling happy and content in the race and everything was working well. It was a tough dice between us all and we were exchanging positions in every lap. Every time I tried to make a break I was caught up again. Obviously I'm gutted I crashed especially when I would have certainly been in the top five, I'm still lying in 7th place in the Championship and hope to improve on that in the remaining six rounds.'

Commenting on the race, Team Manager Nigel Broomhall added 'Once again David has put in a fantastic performance, working hard all weekend and it was a bitter disappointment for David not to have finished. However, we are running consistently at the front of the grid and I am confident that we will get the results that David and the team deserve, in the forthcoming rounds of the Championship.

Rory Rock

After a really good race at Croft I was really looking forward to Knockhill as it is a fairly short track and I went good there last year in the wet.
Things didn't go so well though as we had what can only be described as a very tough weekend, starting with my number 1 bike throwing a chain as I came out of the pits in the first practice. I then had to jump on the spare which wasn't setup the way we would have liked so this session wasn't very productive.

First qualifying was going well with me posting a 53.6 early on which was heaps faster than I went last year. I came in to make a change and on my second lap around I had a huge highside as you go over the infamous chicane at Knockhill. I don't know if I hit a patch of water on the ripple strip or if the back end just came off the ground a bit too much as I went over the crest but I got sent flying. As I landed my head hit the ground first but then my heels and bum got smacked on the ground real hard and I just laid there. OUCH!!!!!!!

I went to hospital and was cleared of any broken bones in my feet but everything was swelling up pretty bad. My main problem was my left knee and heel as I couldn't bend them properly and it would make gear changes hard, I couldn't walk but sitting on the bike wasn't too bad. I decided to get back on for second qualifying and see if I could handle the pain and then decide if I could race.

Things where really hurting but I managed to better my time from Q1 and got down to 53.4 but this was only good for 23rd on the grid.

We made the race and I got an awesome start as I got around the carnage in turns 1 and 2 and I was 13th on lap one. I felt pretty good and thought I could get going but the injuries took there toll and after ten laps I was really feeling it. My times dropped off badly over the last half of the race but I couldn't even turn the bike properly so I got picked off by a few riders and ended up 17th.

I was disappointed that I couldn't score any points as the team worked really hard to get my bike back together after the crash, they didn't think I would be able to race at all let alone finish.

So now we have two weeks before Snetterton where I had my only podium last year, the Marshall Developments R1 should be really suited to it so I am feeling confident. Just got to recuperate this week and then I should be OK fitness wise.

Paul Young

A trip north of the Border for the seventh round of the British Superbike Championship brought a double win for the Chase Accident Repairs/King Dick Tools team in their two respective Superstock races.

Paul Young extended his lead at the top of the Metzeler Racetec National Superstock championship with a dominant win, while his team-mate Peter Ward also took the top spot to lead the Superstock Cup for the first time.

Youngy arrived at the circuit near Fife having taken control of the series after his win at Croft at round six. The veteran Australian rider was looking forward to racing at the tight and technical track. He said: “I do enjoy Knockhill as it reminds me a bit of the tracks I used to enjoy in Australia: tight, twisty and a bit up and down. It’s difficult to set up your bike for the track mainly because we don’t get a lot of time before actual qualifying. So, we made an educated guess on the gearing which was pretty much spot-on. We also made some minor changes on the set-up from Croft. We raised the front of the bike to help with heavy braking over the bumps and that was pretty much it as we thought that what we had at Croft would pretty much suit Knockhill. After that we hardly changed a thing, which is the way I like it so I can get maximum track time without coming back into the pits.”

Paul recorded a 52 second lap of the 1.3 mile circuit to start the 26-lap race in second place just two one hundredths of a second behind pole-sitter John Crockford. At the start of the race he had a quick tussle with Crockford before pulling clear of the chasing pack. Youngy said: “I got a good start but Crocky beat me to the first corner and we came out of it side-by-side. He was good on the brakes, but going a little wide in some of the corners. He was later on the brakes and came up the inside of me going into the last corner hairpin, but he left about a metre gap on the inside which was enough for me to stick the bike back inside of him. We came down the start-finish straight side-by-side and as I had the inside line for turn one I took the lead. That’s the last I saw of anyone! I gapped the field by about three and-a-half seconds and eased back to about a second at the finish. It’s a great result for me and the sponsors and it was made into a double joy when my team-mate Peter won his Superstock Cup race to lead his championship.”

19-year-old Peter ‘Pesky’ Ward from Hinckley is really starting to make an impression on the Superstock Cup series.
He said: “It was always the plan to learn the big 1000cc bike in the first half of the season and then really plug away and get some good results in the second half. With the previous series leader unfortunately injured at Croft, I saw the opportunity to bag some big points. Despite not having really been to Knockhill before - apart from a couple of laps on a standard 600 - I led every timesheet and won the race. Just the sort of confidence-building result I want going into the Snetterton round on July 10th.”

Brendan Roberts

The sun shone on round 6 of the Virgin Mobile Cup held at the 1.29 mile Scottish circuit, 20 year old Australian Brendan Roberts was looking for a better result than last time out when he was caught out by the inclement weather conditions. With a twelve point gap covering the first four riders in the championship, it was set to be a tight battle as eyes were set on the leaders yellow bike held by fellow Australian Billy McConnell.

As the lights went out it was Roberts from position four who took the lead for the fourth time in four outings. With 22 laps of action ahead of them, the race quickly turned into an epic battled as Jon Boy Lee set his sights on the lead, and coming out of the tight up hill hair pin it was Lee who shot out with his pocket size weight and passed Roberts into turn one. Lap four saw McConnell exit in spectacular fashion as the rear let go, flinging him into the air and ending any chance of a podium.

With McConnell gone it left Lee and Roberts battling as they gapped the field by 2.5 seconds, but this was short lived as Tommy Bridewell chased them down and on lap nine he was in reach of a passing move. With the three riders in tow Roberts hit a false neutral going into turn one and ran wide, allowing Bridewell to take second place with ease. As Roberts regained his composure he set his sights on closing the 1.5 second mistake he had just made, and with clear track ahead he was back in the hunt within a few laps. But the win was out of the question once Bridewell forced his way past Lee as he ran a little off line.

With eight laps to go Bridewell had cleared out by over a second, leaving Roberts to find a way past Lee. With an opportunity arising going into a fast up hill right hander, Roberts jumped at the chance and the two riders collided. Both stayed on and it wasn’t over as Roberts came back, elbows and feet were flapping as the two locked bars dicing for position going into the last turn. It was Lee who won out, as Roberts settled for third knowing he had no answer to the shear acceleration Lee had over him.

Notes

Dan Stauffer had a huge tank slapper during practice on Friday and injured his arm in the incident which put his shoulder out. He could manage only three laps in qualifying and could not make any headway due to the injury holding him back and elected not to race.  He tests with the Virgin Yamaha squad on Tuesday.