HM Plant Honda rider Ryiuchi Kiyonari looked a class apart at a mild Brands Indy on Easter Monday. His qualifying times had consistently dipped into the 45s, and he set a new lap record as he disappeared into the distance in Race 1. The excitement was behind him, with a fit again and revitalised Glen Richards grabbing second in the early laps. Supersub Gregorio Lavilla swept passed with two thirds of the race run, on the GSE Airwaves Ducati. He really is a world class act, and it cant be long before someone signs him to ride for them permanently.
On his first ever race on a Ducati, he had it backing into Druids like compatriot Ruben Xaus a couple of years ago in WSB. Richards came back at him in the closing stages, with Emmett and Rutter threatening him, but Lavilla did just enough to take second. This was in marked contrast to Leon Haslam's fortunes. Having snatched pole with an almost superhuman effort, it all went horribly wrong coming out of Graham Hill Bend. The rear end came round, almost high siding him, but even though he saved the crash, he head butted the kill switch as he was flipped forward, and his race was over.
Karl Harris took to the grass to avoid rear ending him, which didn't help his progress. It was a pretty miserable start to the season for Rizla Suzuki. John Reynolds did well to finish in the top ten with a broken leg, but Scott Smart went down at Graham Hill Bend, not the start he was looking for.
Things did not go much better for them in the Race 2. Although Smart did bring it home this time, ninth would not have been the result he wanted, one better than JR. Its curious the new GSXR1000 is not dominating, as it has in the AMA and WSB. This was most definitely Hondas weekend, with Rutter taking second as Kiyonari took a magnificent double. It looks like the youngster from Japan has worked out how to ride the Fireblade, and he may now be ready become one of the top stars of two wheel sport. Battle raged behind him, with a battered Emmett unable to hang on in third on the big bang R1. Lavilla again stood on the podium, a couple of seconds ahead of his team mate for this weekend, Leon Haslam.
British Superbike Race 1 Brands Hatch
- 1 - Ryuichi KIYONARI - Honda - HM Plant Honda - 23:17.575
- 2 - Gregorio LAVILLA - Ducati - Airwaves Ducati - 23:27.817
- 3 - Glen RICHARDS - Kawasaki - Hawk Kawasaki - 23:28.007
- 4 - Michael RUTTER - Honda - HM Plant Honda - 23:28.108
- 5 - Sean EMMETT - Yamaha - Virgin Mobile Samsung - 23:31.743
- 6 - Karl HARRIS - Honda - www.honda-racing.co.uk - 23:36.449
- 7 - Jeremy McWILLIAMS - Honda - Stobart Honda - 23:41.983
- 8 - Dean THOMAS - Kawasaki - Hawk Kawasaki - 23:42.179
- 9 - John REYNOLDS - Suzuki - Rizla Suzuki - 23:44.467
- 10 - Tommy HILL - Yamaha - Virgin Mobile Samsung - 23:49.864
- 11 - Ben WILSON - Kawasaki - Vivaldi Racing - 23:50.104
- 12 - Danny BEAUMONT - Honda - Team JJL Racing - 23:53.224
- 13 - Jonathan REA - Honda - Red Bull Honda - 23:56.388
- 14 - Tristan PALMER - Kawasaki - Vivaldi Racing - 23:57.785
- 15 - Michael LAVERTY - Honda - Stobart Honda - 23:57.819
- 16 - James BUCKINGHAM - Suzuki - Quay Garage Suzuki - 23:58.264
- 17 - John McGUINNESS - Yamaha - AIM Racing - 24:02.047
- 18 - John LAVERTY - Honda - Vitrans Racing - 24:05.523
- 19 - Dennis HOBBS - Yamaha - Team Nvidia - 23:17.878
- 20 - Julien DA COSTA - Kawasaki - MSS Discovery Racing - 23:19.732
- 21 - Jon KIRKHAM - Kawasaki - Sendo Superbike Team - 23:25.324
- 22 - Dean ELLISON - Yamaha - Jentin Racing - 23:33.728
- 23 - Gareth GLYNN - Yamaha - Jentin Racing - 23:34.532
- 24 - Richard WREN - Yamaha - Virgin Mobile Samsung - 23:39.821
- 25 - Chris MARTIN - Suzuki - Carmasters Ltd - 23:41.824
- 26 - Michael PENSAVALLE - Kawasaki - MP Racing - 23:46.305
- 27 - Steve BROGAN - Honda - PR Branson Honda - 23:48.602
- 28 - Malcolm ASHLEY - Kawasaki - MAR - 24:01.095
- 29 - Nick MEDD - Kawasaki - Medd Racing - 23:21.883
British Superbike Race 2 Brands Hatch
- 1 - Ryuichi KIYONARI - Honda - HM Plant Honda - 23:16.796
- 2 - Michael RUTTER - Honda - HM Plant Honda - 23:21.837
- 3 - Gregorio LAVILLA - Ducati - Airwaves Ducati - 23:24.823
- 4 - Leon HASLAM - Ducati - Airwaves Ducati - 23:26.582
- 5 - Sean EMMETT - Yamaha - Virgin Mobile Samsung - 23:30.977
- 6 - Karl HARRIS - Honda - www.honda-racing.co.uk - 23:31.217
- 7 - Glen RICHARDS - Kawasaki - Hawk Kawasaki - 23:33.408
- 8 - Scott SMART - Suzuki - Rizla Suzuki - 23:40.798
- 9 - John REYNOLDS - Suzuki - Rizla Suzuki - 23:41.235
- 10 - Gary MASON - Honda - Stobart Honda - 23:41.302
- 11 - Dean THOMAS - Kawasaki - Hawk Kawasaki - 23:44.008
- 12 - Tommy HILL - Yamaha - Virgin Mobile Samsung - 23:45.315
- 13 - Ben WILSON - Kawasaki - Vivaldi Racing - 23:47.669
- 14 - John McGUINNESS - Yamaha - AIM Racing - 23:48.932
- 15 - Michael LAVERTY - Honda - Stobart Honda - 23:52.684
- 16 - Kieran CLARKE - Honda - Hydrex Honda - 23:53.763
- 17 - James BUCKINGHAM - Suzuki - Quay Garage Suzuki - 23:56.881
- 18 - Jonathan REA - Honda - Red Bull Honda - 23:56.898
- 19 - Julien DA COSTA - Kawasaki - MSS Discovery Racing - 23:18.600
- 20 - Jon KIRKHAM - Kawasaki - Sendo Superbike Team - 23:18.702
- 21 - Marty NUTT - Honda -Nutt Travel/Johns Motors - 23:19.445
- 22 - Tristan PALMER - Kawasaki - Vivaldi Racing - 23:19.679
- 23 - Dennis HOBBS - Yamaha - Team Nvidia - 23:24.778
- 24 - Chris MARTIN - Suzuki - Carmasters Ltd - 23:34.058
- 25 - Michael PENSAVALLE - Kawasaki - MP Racing - 23:34.224
- 26 - Dean ELLISON - Yamaha - Jentin Racing - 23:34.324
- 27 - Malcolm ASHLEY - Kawasaki - MAR - 23:54.450
Championship Points After Race 1
- 1 - Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda)- 50
- 2 - Gregorio LAVILLA (Ducati)- 36
- 3 - Michael RUTTER (Honda)- 33
- 4 - Glen RICHARDS (Kawasaki)- 25
- 5 - Sean EMMETT (Yamaha)- 22
- 6 - Karl HARRIS (Honda)- 20
- 7 - John REYNOLDS (Suzuki)- 14
- 8 - Dean THOMAS (Kawasaki)- 13
- 9 - Leon HASLAM (Ducati)- 13
- 10 - Tommy HILL (Yamaha)- 10
- 11 - Jeremy McWILLIAMS (Honda)- 9
- 12 - Ben WILSON (Kawasaki)- 8
- 13 - Scott SMART (Suzuki)- 8
- 14 - Gary MASON (Honda)- 6
- 15 - Danny BEAUMONT (Honda)- 4
- 16 - Jonathan REA (Honda)- 3
- 17 - Tristan PALMER (Kawasaki)- 2
- 18 - Michael LAVERTY (Honda)- 2
- 19 - John McGUINNESS (Yamaha)- 2
British Supersport
Andy Weymouth won the inaugural Supersport Cup race by a massive 18 seconds, coming an excellent 14th in the race overall. He spent the first half of the race dicing with Steve Allan on the factory MSS Discovery ZX6R, but couldn't keep in the tow, so he brought his ageing R6 home with few dramas. Just about all his peers from the MRO SS600 series came in behind him, showing what a fast maturing talent he is.
The race itself was a cracker, packed with incident and high octane action. Stuart Easton was back to his best on the Ducati 749, holding Jay Vincent at bay for almost the entire race. Finally Vincent made a move stick at Graham Hill Bend, but the win was up for grabs when they hit a pack of back markers. Vincent took a smart line that saw him carve through them like a knife through butter, while Easton had all sorts of problems trying to get through. When he finally emerged, the Padgets CBR600RR was gone, and Easton came home a distant second. Pole man Tom Sykes held a comfortable third for the first half of the race, but a miserable weekend for TAS Suzuki became a catastrophe when he joined team mate Simon Andrews in the kitty litter. Rob Frost had a strong race until he became entangled with Cal Crutchlow at Clearways, and they both went down. The red mist duly descended and Frosty set up about telling Crutchlow the error of his ways, using a more physical than philosophical approach. Thankfully the marshals were on hand to separate them, before any serious scrapping began.
Craig Jones rode wonderfully well to take third, holding off the hard charging Leon Camier by under half a second. Riba came in fifth, Eugene confirmed he is another Laverty with a big future, coming sixth on the Red Bull Honda. Tom Tunstall is another rider who is emerging as someone who could end up on the podium one day, beating many higher profile riders, taking seventh.
British Supersport Race Result
- 1 - Jay VINCENT - Honda - Padgetts Motorcycles - 22:22.207
- 2 - Stuart EASTON - Ducati - Riders - JHP Racing - 22:27.034
- 3 - Craig JONES - Honda - Northpoint Honda Racing - 22:34.050
- 4 - Leon CAMIER - Honda - Padgetts Motorcycles - 22:34.101
- 5 - Pere RIBA - Kawasaki - MSS Discovery Racing - 22:34.478
- 6 - Eugene LAVERTY - Honda - Red Bull Honda - 22:35.809
- 7 - Tom TUNSTALL - Honda - Hardinge Ice Valley TKR - 22:40.884
- 8 - Kieran MURPHY - Honda - Goldstar Racing - 22:43.429
- 9 - Luke QUIGLEY - Honda - Buildbase/Knotts - 22:53.611
- 10 - Jamie ROBINSON - Honda - JR Motosport - 22:55.078
- 11 - Paul YOUNG - Honda - Q Motosport - 22:55.160
- 12 - Steven NEATE - Honda - Trucklinks Honda - 22:55.309
- 13 - Steve ALLAN - Kawasaki - MSS Discovery Racing - 23:04.830
- 14 - Andy WEYMOUTH - Yamaha - Reflex Racing - 23:10.026
- 15 - Lee DICKINSON - Honda - GMP Racing Ltd - 23:28.248
- 16 - Anthony COOPER - Suzuki - CRT/Cooper Racing Team - 23:30.916
- 17 - Paul SHOESMITH - Yamaha - Speedfreak Racing Team - 23:31.048
- 18 - Paul SEWARD - Kawasaki - Buff/Shark Kawasaki - 23:31.991
- 19 - Gary JOHNSON - Kawasaki - GTR Motorsport - 23:32.293
- 20 - Mike GOODFELLOW - Honda - Mike Goodfellow Racing - 23:32.304
- 21 - Daniel FOWLER - Kawasaki - visorvision.co.uk - 23:32.644
- 22 - Craig SPROSTON - Honda - Team CSR/BRIT-TIP - 23:35.857
- 23 - Phil SETON - Kawasaki - Buff/Shark Kawasaki - 23:38.321
- 24 - Martin JESSOPP - Ducati - Riders JHP Racing - 23:46.485
- 25 - Bob GRANT - Honda - Kinpac - 23:48.013
- 26 - James HILLIER - Kawasaki - Gearlink - 23:48.187
- 27 - Rob SKETCHLEY - Honda - IFP Team Honda - 23:52.684
- 28 - Kieron EGERTON - Ducati - Faster by Fuller - 24:26.084
- 29 - Chris AMBLER - Honda - A&M Racing - 24:26.488
- 30 - Julian BULL - Yamaha - Team Sitec - 24:26.615
Championship Points
- 1. Jay VINCENT - 25
- 2. Stuart EASTON - 20
- 3. Craig JONES - 16
- 4. Leon CAMIER - 13
- 5. Pere RIBA - 11
- 6. Eugene LAVERTY - 10
- 7. Tom TUNSTALL - 9
- 8. Kieran MURPHY - 8
- 9. Luke QUIGLEY - 7
- 10. Jamie ROBINSON - 6
- 11. Paul YOUNG - 5
- 12. Steven NEATE - 4
- 13. Steve ALLAN - 3
- 14. Andy WEYMOUTH - 2
- 15. Lee DICKINSON - 1
Virgin Mobile R6 Cup
Northern Irish 18 year old Ian Lowry had an almost perfect weekend, qualifying in pole by a handsome margin, and then riding the Dunlop Animal yellow bike to win by over 3.5 seconds. He emerged from a tussle in the first few corners with Australian Billy McConnell with the lead, and proceeded to hammer home his superiority round here, with a dominant display. Mark Pollock looks like he will be a contender this year, as will McConnell and Jon Boy Lee.
Daniel Hegarty did well to hold off last years early season front runner, Adam Jenkinson, who was strangely subdued, unable to make a pass, having fired in some quick laps to latch on to Hegartys back wheel. Steve Mercer did well to hold off a swarm of quick boys to take ninth. He was passed by more returnees to the series, Michael Niblett and Connor Cummins, but dug in well to retake a position and hang on under intense pressure. He told me the rear tyre was spinning out of every corner, so there may be more to come from the lanky 21 year old from Maidstone. He should certainly be feeling better than some, especially one poor chap, who even Steve in ninth lapped twice.
Virgin Mobile Cup Result
- 1 - Ian LOWRY - Image Motorsport - 18:40.874
- 2 - Mark POLLOCK - 18:44.417
- 3 - Billy McCONNELL - Astro Racing/Smarts Plumbing - 18:45.024 - AUS
- 4 - Jon Boy LEE - Paddock Car Electrics - 18:45.769
- 5 - Daniel HEGARTY - Wheel 2 Wheel Racing - 18:46.133
- 6 - Adam JENKINSON - RP Bikes/Pallet Force Racing - 18:47.175
- 7 - Michael ROSE - Peter Brotherhood Ltd - 18:48.647
- 8 - Michael NIBLETT - Rex Judd Racing - 18:53.208
- 9 - Steve MERCER - Steve Mercer Racing - 19:02.142
- 10 - Conor CUMMINS - Milntown motorsport IOM - 19:02.210
- 11 - Christian ATTEW - Christian Attew Racing - 19:03.174
- 12 - Brendan ROBERTS - 19:03.186 - AUS
- 13 - Tommy BRIDEWELL - Wayside Racing - 19:03.417
- 14 - James ROSE - Shaun Rose Racing - 19:13.269
- 15 - Tom DEAN - TCR Motorsport - 19:13.549
- 16 - Ross WALTER - Interserve Racing - 19:14.509
- 17 - Peter NEWELL - Newells Racing - 19:17.774
- 18 - Matthew WHITMAN - Darack Motorsport - 19:17.943
- 19 - Craig BEGGS - Envirostrip UK Racing - 19:18.581
- 20 - Lance CRONSHAW - Bob Wright-Keith Dixon Racing - 19:29.488
- 21 - Leon HUNT - LH Racing - 19:33.344
- 22 - Alex JENKINS - 19:38.790
- 23 - David BOWCOCK - 18:48.989
- 24 - Brendan FAIRBROTHER - Fairbrother Racing - 18:50.017
- 25 - John EASTWOOD - Eastwood Racing - 19:09.280
This article was provided by Pete Morrison of www.twowheelsontrack.com.
