Probably nine-tenths of the course is flat out and leaned over for the competitors, with the big overtaking opportunity being into the final right-left-right Club Chicane, approached at top speed. It is rare for a single rider to get away into a clear lead, so close is the action, and the chicane has seen its share of last lap drama over the years. In 1996, Terry Rymer memorably came from last on the grid to win for Ducati; and last year saw Sean Emmett celebrate too soon and cost himself a win.

HM Plant Honda’s riders had been on form at Brands Hatch, and Michael Rutter duly took his fourteenth BSB pole position, and the sixth for the 1000cc FireBlade. Team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari, winner of the last four races held, was a row behind in fifth, hindered by an ankle injury sustained in qualifying. Second Honda was therefore piloted by UK factory man Karl Harris, separated from Rutter by Leon Haslam (Airwaves Ducati) and Sean Emmett (Virgin Yamaha). Emmett had picked up an arm infection following the Brands elbow injury, and was having fluid drained off regularly.

The Hawk Kawasakis of Glen Richards and Dean Thomas started sixth and tenth, with seventh man Gregorio Lavilla carrying on as stand-in for James Haydon on the second Airwaves bike. John Reynolds was still struggling back to full fitness, so Scott Smart was the first Rizla Suzuki man, in eighth, ahead of Tommy Hill and the second Yamaha. Behind Thomas came John McGuinness, Kieran Clarke and Gary Mason.

Race one saw Emmett take off in the lead, with the Hondas of Rutter, Harris and Kiyonari in pursuit, and Richards leading the rest of the field. Harris briefly got second from Rutter, but then the HRC-backed HM Plant pair got to work, moving ahead and chasing down Emmett. As Rutter tried on the inside, Kiyonari went to the outside into the heavy braking zone before Club, and managed to pass both his rivals for the lead. Jeremy McWilliams crashed his Honda accelerating onto the start-finish straight.

Ryuichi Kiyonari - photo © Raceline Photography

Kiyo began to pull away from Emmett, leaving Rutter to move ahead as Richards dealt with Harris. Michael got away from the pack, but Ryuichi stayed comfortably ahead. Meanwhile, the Ducatis of Lavilla and Haslam were menacing a little way back. A missed gear for Richards at the last corner let Harris, Lavilla and Haslam past, and this upset his rhythm sufficiently that Smart and Thomas also came past before the race was over.

Kiyonari and Rutter duly wrapped up the one-two for HM Plant Honda. The GSE riders, on the Airwaves Ducati machines, emerged as the second best team, with Lavilla leading the way as they got in front of Harris and Emmett. Haslam didn’t seem to have the pace of the experienced Spaniard, but stayed ahead of Emmett, Harris, Smart, Thomas, Richards, Hill, James Buckingham, Mason, Steve Plater, Reynolds and Michael Laverty.

Race two saw Haslam emerge in front, but he was quickly pushed back by Kiyonari, Rutter and then Emmett, with Harris and Lavilla next. Once again, Kiyo started to try and pull away, leaving Rutter to deal with the advancing Lavilla as these three separated from the pack. But any lead was annihilated by the spectacular crash for Vivaldi’s Tristan Palmer, which sent his Kawasaki tumbling across the grass in a fireball, and prompted the safety car. Palmer was thankfully not caught in the bike’s arc of destruction.

The restart allowed Lavilla to get by Rutter and onto the tail of Kiyonari, the Spaniard circulating rapidly and looking to put pressure on the leader. Kiyo found it harder to shake off the Ducati than his earlier victory might have suggested and, at one point, almost came out of the seat as he pushed on. Gregorio broke Steve Hislop’s long standing lap record as he attacked, and they left Rutter to fend off Emmett and Haslam. Smart went out with a terminally smoking Suzuki.

As the laps counted down, Kiyonari managed to get a slight breathing space from Lavilla, whilst Rutter sped away from the rest to join the group. They finished in that order, with Emmett, Richards and Thomas all pushing Haslam down to seventh, from Harris, McWilliams, Plater, Clarke, Jonathan Rea, Mason, Steve Brogan and Ben Wilson. The difficult windy conditions contributed to John Reynolds’ demise, as the Rizla team felt it was best for him not risk further injury when running outside the points, and so brought him in.

Four wins from the first four races put Ryuichi Kiyonari in a strong lead of 28 points, and was the best start to the championship since the days when Wayne Gardner dominated the British TT F1 series, twenty years ago. Gregorio Lavilla maintained second with four podium visits, prompting talk that he might earn a full-time BSB ride even when James Haydon returns for Mallory Park. Michael Rutter and Karl Harris showed the Honda strength in depth, whilst Sean Emmett kept up a good record on the new Yamaha R1. The big losers so far seem to be Suzuki, with a best of seventh being in sharp contrast to their excellent start in 2004.

Standings after four races: Kiyonari 100; Lavilla 72; Rutter 69; Emmett 46; Richards 43; Harris 38; Haslam 35; Thomas 31; Smart 17; Reynolds, Hill and McWilliams 16.

To buy the photographs shown above, visit Raceline Photography

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