Ryuichi Kiyonari recorded the fastest ever two-wheeled lap of the Silverstone International circuit to claim pole start for the double race ninth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, but he was still only a split second faster than his series leading HM Plan Honda team-mate Michael Rutter.

Kiyonari, who is bidding to become the first Japanese rider to win the British crown around the 2.213 mile Northamptonshire circuit in a time of 1m 26.111secs, an average speed of 92.51mph to not only beat the previous pole record held by Rutter, but also out-pace him on the day, albeit by a tenth of a second.

The exciting 22 year old is full of confidence, having returned triumphant from his homeland where he won the Suzuka Eight Hours race, while Rutter, who holds a 45 points advantage over him in the title stakes has recovered from the broken collarbone and dislocated shoulder sustained in a crash during qualifying for the previous round.

Rutter had good fortune on his side when he slid off at the high speed Abby Curve during the afternoon session, escaping without injury, and although he returned to the track on his spare bike, he was unable to improve on his time.

Gregorio Lavilla, the Spanish rider who is third in the title stakes, moved into third place on the leaderboard, a split second faster than his front-row completing Airwaves Ducati team-mate Leon Haslam.

Aussie Dean Thomas was fifth fastest aboard the Hawk Kawasaki, with a lap of 1m 26.419s, just ahead of the Rizla Suzuki of reigning champion John Reynolds, Vivaldi Kawasaki rider Scott Smart and James Haydon.

Michael Laverty, riding the Stobart Honda, heads the third row, with Glen Richards, who crashed his Hawk Kawasaki during the second session, Gary Mason, and the Virgin Mobile Samsung Yamaha duo of Tommy Hill and Sean Emmett in close contention.

James Buckingham, the leader of the British Superbike Cup, headed the qualifying for that class, running a third of a second faster than Marty Nutt with Steve Brogan third best.

HM Plant Honda Report

Ryuichi Kiyonari set the fastest lap ever on two wheels at Silverstone on his way to claiming pole position for tomorrow’s two Bennetts British Superbike Championship races. The Japanese rider put in a best time of 1:26.111 during this morning’s qualifying session.

Team-mate Michael Rutter came closest to matching the pole position time with a fastest lap of 1:26.228 aboard the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade. It puts the Midlander in second position on the grid for the two 22-lap races at the Northamptonshire circuit, despite a low speed crash at Abbey during the afternoon session.

Last year’s event at the 2.213-mile track saw the HRC-backed team’s riders finish both races on the podium. They will be looking for similar results this weekend, with championship leader Rutter determined to maintain his advantage in the series and Kiyonari focussing on closing the gap on his HM Plant Honda Racing team-mate.

Both have made promising starts to their challenges for round nine of the championship. It is 22-year-old Kiyonari’s third pole position of the season – allowing him to match team-mate Rutter’s tally of leading grid positions this year.

Michael Rutter: “The track had less grip this afternoon compared with the morning session, so I was unable to improve on my time – or Kiyo’s. It would have been nice to have gone faster than him in qualifying, but I will hopefully correct that on race day when it counts most. Thankfully, my crash was a minor one and has left me with no injury complaints for tomorrow.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari: “It feels good to be back on the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade. I am really comfortable with the machine and everything seems to be going well at Silverstone. I like this circuit and I went well here last year, so I am hoping to pull some points back on Michael tomorrow.”

Rizla Suzuki Report

Rizla Suzuki's John Reynolds will start from sixth and James Haydon from eighth in tomorrow's ninth round of the British Superbike Championship at Silverstone.

Both racers were fighting for the front row for much of the qualification sessions: Reynolds settled for sixth after his last flying lap was aborted when he suffered a minor technical fault on his GSX-R1000. Haydon was content with eighth, setting a time on his qualifier that was comparable to his pace on more durable race tyres.

John Reynolds: "On my final flying lap the chain slider on the swing arm broke and the chain was banging onto the metal making an awful noise, so I had to slow down. That's a shame as I was confident I could have made it on to the front row.

"Sixth is okay for the race - the second row gives us a chance to get away from the grid with the leaders. I am feeling fit and ready to race after the mid-summer break and will be going for it tomorrow."

James Haydon: "For qualifying we used the same settings on my Rizla Suzuki that I found during our test here earlier this month and the bike felt good. I got a great deal of confidence back in my bike and on race tyres I can run a decent pace that I hope will keep me with the leaders in the races.

"I usually get good starts and I'm counting on that from the back of the second row. Here at Silverstone the first corner is a right hander, so if I get away quickly, I have a chance to make up some places early on and that's what I'm aiming for."

Paul Denning -Team Owner: "John is just four-tenths down on pole and James a further two-tenths behind that. Their lap times are incredibly close to pole position, which shows just how strong the entry list is in BSB. Both guys need a touch more race pace, which some final tweaks in morning warm up should achieve. If they can get away with the leaders they should be podium contenders.

"I've enjoyed coming back to BSB as a spectator to watch qualification. The competition here is just as fierce as MotoGP and our aims are exactly the same - to get on the podium and win races. I'll be cheering the team on tomorrow before heading to Brno for the next MotoGP round next weekend."

Laverty on Supersport Pole

Eugene Laverty has continued to show his undoubted potential on four-stroke machinery by taking his first pole position in the Metabo British Supersport Championship at Silverstone. The 19-year-old Ulsterman recorded the fastest time of 1:28.908 on his Red Bull Honda CBR600RR in this afternoon’s second session – an impressive feat at the ninth round of his debut season in the ultra-competitive Supersport class.

Laverty has benefited from two productive tests since the last race at Snetterton. The Red Bull Honda team has used the six-week mid-summer break to work with Dunlop Tyres and WP Suspension. It has helped to further develop the young Toomebridge star’s riding style to suit the power and handling characteristics of the back-to-back championship winning machine. His previous experience has been on Honda two-strokes in the British 125GP Championship.

With recent testing being held at the venues for the ninth and tenth rounds of the championship – at Silverstone and Cadwell Park respectively – Laverty is prepared to pick up from where he left off at Snetterton in July. He had led round eight at the Norfolk track before a technical problem restricted him to a lower leaderboard finish.

The luck of the Irish may yet return at Silverstone, but Laverty knows that he still has it all to do in tomorrow’s 20-lap race. An end of session crash reminded him that he must not be complacent, with total concentration required to deliver his first podium finish of the year.

Eugene Laverty: “This is just the boost I needed after the frustration of what happened at Snetterton. We’ve made a lot of progress during testing and I’d like to thank Red Bull Honda, Dunlop and WP for all the assistance they’ve given me in recent weeks – and here at Silverstone this weekend.

“We’ve got a good chassis set-up on the CBR600RR and we’ve been working hard all season to get to this strong position. Now I know that I’ve got to turn around this level of performance over race distance. My confidence is building and there’s no doubt that I’ll be challenging hard for my first podium position of the season.”