With plenty of off-season bike and tyre testing miles under his belt, Ryuichi Kiyonari was able to pick up where he left off at the end of 2004 - a double winner at Donington Park’s final championship round. But although the HRC-backed HM Plant Hondas kept up their impressive performance, Kiyonari and Michael Rutter didn’t have everything their own way.

The closest challenge of the weekend came from the returning GSE Ducati team, now running under the Airwaves banner. The experienced Rizla Suzuki, Hawk Kawasaki and Virgin Yamaha squads all had their moments, too, so we are surely looking at a season worth remembering - so long as Kiyonari doesn’t leave them all in the background. Given the nature of the series, he will have his work cut out.

The teams assembled for the challenge of the constantly curving and dipping Brands Hatch Indy circuit, which has the shortest lap on the calendar, and offers correspondingly few overtaking places. Reigning champion John Reynolds was just about fit enough to compete, barely six weeks after a leg-breaking accident in testing, and was determined to try and get some points on the board. His would-be replacement, Spain’s Gregorio Lavilla, found alternative employment as a substitute for Ducati’s James Haydon - with injuries to his left hand after another testing spill.

Qualifying saw Leon Haslam take his first BSB pole position on the Airwaves Ducati 999, and team-mate Lavilla was fifth despite no prior experience with the machine. The HM Plant bikes of Kiyonari and Rutter were next to the red bikes, second and sixth respectively, with Scott Smart the lead Rizla Suzuki rider in third. Reynolds managed to get the other GSX-R1000 into P12, which was good going in a tightly packed grid, covered by just fractions.

Sean Emmett was the last man on row one, with the revised ‘big bang’ firing order Virgin Yamaha R1 but, having fallen twice in the morning warm-up, he would be riding with fifteen stitches in his left elbow, which was still bleeding and also very bruised. With Brands his local circuit, Sean had never fallen here before. Young team-mates Tommy Hill and Richard Wren were 13th and 32nd. The fifth different bike was the Kawasaki ZX-10R, with Hawk rider Glen Richards in seventh, and Dean Thomas four places back, split from Richards by the Honda FireBlades of Karl Harris, Jeremy McWilliams and Gary Mason.

Ryuichi Kiyonari - photo © Raceline Photography

Kiyonari took off in the lead at the start of race one, and he wasn’t really challenged from then until the finish. In fact, his lead was quickly established, and he ultimately turned the quickest lap of the race. Behind, Richards, Haslam, Smart and Rutter were next away, but Haslam’s challenge ended only a few corners later. Caught out by a slide and grip moment between Graham Hill Bend and Surtees corner, Leon was almost thrown out of the saddle, and he managed to hit the kill switch as he kept the bike upright. Then all he could do was coast back to the pits.

The Haslam incident served to delay his pursuers briefly, allowing Richards to establish himself in second position. He was now followed by Rutter, Lavilla, Emmett and Richards, while the field was reduced still further as Steve Plater’s Sendo Kawasaki hit trouble, leaving him to freewheel off the track. More dramatically, Smart exited the fray with a crash at Graham Hill Bend.

With Kiyonari sliding the rear as he extended his advantage, the focus turned to the battles behind him. Lavilla cleared Emmett as he closed on Rutter, with the Spaniard getting on the inside of his Honda rival round into the final Clearways bend, and staying there to complete the pass at the downhill Paddock Hill Bend, going into the next lap. Gregorio then proceeded to push Richards, going inside over the line and again overtaking at Paddock.

As the leading pack spread out, there was an intriguing tussle for ninth between McWilliams, Thomas and the remarkable Reynolds. But the contest for second closed up again as they moved through back markers, and Emmett looked liked joining in the three-way affair between Lavilla, Richards and Rutter. In the end, these three crossed the line almost together, with the order unchanged, but the race belonged to Kiyonari.

Emmett was fifth, followed home by Harris, McWilliams, Thomas, Reynolds, Hill, Ben Wilson, and leading privateer Danny Beaumont. The remaining points went to Jonathan Rea, Tristan Palmer and Michael Laverty, with John McGuinness not far away behind James Buckingham. Gary Mason was another non-finisher.

For race two, Michael Rutter changed his choice of Michelin front tyre compound, and later reported that this made his job easier. Kiyonari was once again the first into Paddock, and this time he felt the attentions of Emmett from the off. Sean went ahead on the inside at the right-hand Druids hairpin, only for ‘Kiyo’ to try and fight back at the following Graham Hill Bend. Emmett fended him off, though, and they led from Rutter, Haslam, Harris, Richards and Lavilla, as Smart quickly dropped back.

Kiyonari was to go back ahead at Surtees, leaving Emmett to deal with the eagerly attacking Rutter, just as Harris and Richards were being pushed by Lavilla. The Spanish rider made another pass at Paddock, and also left Harris to the attentions of Richards. With Kiyonari taking off into another uncontested lead, there was a four man group looking to emerge second - Emmett and Rutter together, with a small margin over Haslam and Lavilla.

Harris and Richards were racing for sixth, and a group of six disputed eighth, with Thomas ahead of McWilliams, Mason, Reynolds, Hill and Smart. The Australian Kawasaki man seemed to be holding up the rest as, when McWilliams got through at Paddock, the experienced Ulsterman was then able to pull away. Similary, Reynolds passed Thomas at Druids, chasing after the Honda, as Smart set about Hill and Mason.

Second place was decided when Rutter got onto the inside of Emmett for Paddock, passing and stretching away while the Yamaha man dropped into the clutches of the next two. Kiyonari and Rutter duly secured a one-two for the HM Plant Honda, whereas the Airwaves riders got through on Emmett for the next two places, with fastest rider Lavilla ahead of Haslam. Harris and Richards were next, but McWilliams crashed on the final lap, so eighth went to Smart, from Reynolds, Mason, Thomas, Hill, Wilson, McGuinness and Laverty.

It had been Ryuichi Kiyonari’s day, with Gregorio Lavilla the surprise package - not having ridden a Ducati twin since 1998. Michael Rutter made a good start, relative to long term rivals Reynolds and Emmett, while the next few men in the points all had reason to be optimistic. John Reynolds made the best of an unfortunate situation, but will have got the message that the defence of his title is going to be a tough old slog.

Standings after two races: Kiyonari 50; Lavilla 36; Rutter 33; Richards 25; Emmett 22; Harris 20; Reynolds 14; Thomas and Haslam 13; Hill 10.

To buy the photograph shown above, visit Raceline Photography

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