Ryuichi Kiyonari, the exciting young Japanese rider, heads for the ultra-fast Thruxton on Easter Monday intent on taking a winning double in the third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship as he plays ‘catch-up’ on Gregorio Lavilla, the title holder and series leader.

The Spaniard has won two of the four races and packed the points in the others with a smooth, stylish riding style in both rain-soaked races and in the dry. Those performances have seen the Airwaves Ducati rider open up a healthy 24 points advantage over his HM Plant Honda rival who, while winning once, crucially crashed out of the last race.

Kiyonari needs an ‘action replay’ of his double success of last year at the Hampshire circuit to put his title bid firmly back on track – the factory backed Honda team are in their third year of the domestic season and they expect success.

That puts the pressure on Kiyonari, especially with Lavilla, and his Airwaves Ducati, team-mate Leon Haslam riding so well. The young Derbyshire rider, who sustained a dislocated right ankle in the opening race of the season, has ridden through the pain barrier, twice second and once third, to be just a couple of points down on Kiyonari.

Haslam is gunning for the crown in his own right as he bids to put himself back onto the world stage and his confidence is growing with every race, something that showed in the second of the two races at Donington last Sunday when he snatched second place from Lavilla on the final lap.

Karl Harris, the former three times British Supersport Champion, who partners Kiyonari in the HM Plant team will also have a big part to play in the outcome of these races – the Sheffield rider has settled quickly to the challenge.

Keen to be running up front are the Rizla Suzuki riders. Shane Byrne, the British champion of three years ago, and James Haydon. They had a miserable time last Sunday, with the team working overtime to have their bikes ready for the third round. They will be keen to make amends, and that could spell major problems for the early season points leaders.

Scott Smart, with his career fourth win, delighted the Vivaldi Suzuki team by powering them to their first ever Superbike victory in the Donington rain, and now they are expecting more. That is also the case with Hawk Kawasaki who will be looking for strong results from their two Aussie riders Dean Thomas and Craig Coxhell.

Add in the challenge of the Hydrex Hondas in the hands of Gary Mason and Glen Richards and the race promises hot action, with the Virgin Mobile Yamahas in the hands of Tommy Hill, Kieran Clarke and Billy McConnell all well up to speed also.

And in the British Superbike Cup, the defending champion James Buckingham, now riding a Honda in the Quay Garage colours, will be hoping to build on his Donington success of last Sunday, though the competition is intensifying with Malcolm Ashley, Chris Martin and Marty Nutt all racking up the points.

But, even before the racing begins, the Superbike aces will be chasing for points in the Audi Performance Award – that rewards the fastest rider in qualifying over the full season with a £50,000 limited edition car. Lavilla, with two pole starts, heads the action!

Around the two Superbike races, there is a full supporting race programme, featuring the third rounds of the British Supersport Championship, the British 125GP Championship, the Virgin Mobile Cup and the Metzeler Racetec National Superstock Championship and Cup.