Kiyonari gets revenge as he beats Byrne by 0.074s in race two

Ryuichi Kiyonari got his revenge in the 'War for Four' MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship titles in the second race at Silverstone as he beat Shane 'Shakey' Byrne to the victory by just 0.074s ahead of the title-decider at Brands Hatch in two weeks time (17/18/19 October).

Byrne hit the front of the pack on the opening lap from the pole position ahead of Josh Brookes and Kiyonari, but a lap later the Japanese ace was already attacking hard and moved ahead of Brookes at Copse before pulling a move on Byrne at Club.

Kiyonari knew that Byrne and Brookes were hunting him down and the Australian made a move at Village, but the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider was not giving up the place without a fight and was straight back ahead.

Brookes was shadowing the triple champions but he crashed out of contention on the sixth lap at Brooklands, ending his hopes of closing the deficit in the points. The Milwaukee Yamaha rider was unhurt in the crash but it left Kiyonari and Byrne to duke it out for the win.

Kiyonari was holding his nerve at the front despite the increasing pressure being mounted on him by Byrne and on the penultimate lap the final fight for the win intensified. Byrne launched his attack at Village, but Kiyonari came back at him immediately and as the pair crossed the line ahead of the final lap there was just 0.145s between them.

Kiyonari narrowly had the edge into the final lap from Byrne but the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki made a move at Village to briefly hit the front as the Buildbase BMW snatched it back. Kiyonari defended hard and despite Byrne trying every move possible it was his Japanese rival who had the advantage as the pair leave Silverstone separated by just twelve points ahead of the final three Brands Hatch races.

Ellison fought back to a heroic third place, his first podium since his Brands Hatch injury, as he got the better of Tommy Bridewell on the Milwaukee Yamaha over the closing laps. Josh Waters again was the lone Tyco Suzuki in fifth as his team-mate John Hopkins had retired from the race.

Stuart Easton held off Title Fighter Dan Linfoot for seventh ahead of Julien Da Costa, Peter Hickman and James Westmoreland. 

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Silverstone, race two result:

1. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW)
2. Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.074s
3. James Ellison (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +10.008s
4. Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) +10.101s
5. Josh Waters (Tyco Suzuki) +13.766s
6. Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +15.719s
7. Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +15.765s
8. Julien Da Costa (Honda Racing) +15.967s
9. Peter Hickman (RAF Reserves Honda) +18.278s
10. James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +21.791s

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings ahead of Brands Hatch finale:

1. Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 632
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) 620
3. Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 552
4. Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) 550
5. Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) 546
6. Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) 513

Kiyonari claims Silverstone pole as Byrne closes in on final lap

Ryuichi Kiyonari claimed his second pole position of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season by edging out the opposition in Datatag Extreme Qualifying at Silverstone this afternoon.

In the drying conditions Kiyonari stormed to the top of the times to bounce back from his crash in the final free practice session earlier in the day. The Buildbase BMW rider held a 0.799s advantage over his 'War for Four' rival Shane 'Shakey' Byrne who closed in on his final lap, but had to settle for second for the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki team.

Kiyonari said: "After the crash this morning I was very disappointed as I just wanted to be consistent. The first lap I high-sided and the machine didn't look too damaged but the team had to work hard for qualifying. I was then thinking about qualifying and we felt better in Q1, which was hard as the conditions were changing, but I had a good feeling. The machine felt good and I am feeling very happy to be on pole position. I am going to try hard tomorrow to win, like we did in Assen, and I hope we can stay in front."

Byrne added: "It was one of those sessions where you look up and down the pitlane and you have to make a decision. For myself and Kiyo it is a completely different ball game right now. I went for wets in Q1 and intermediate front and a slick rear in Q2 and I wasn't sure about the slick in the front. From a performance point of view it is obviously faster but if you lose the front at one of the damp sections you could end up looking like a right div! I erred on the side of caution and went for intermediate front and fortunately on the last lap I put a semi-decent lap that put us on the front row which should make for a good fight tomorrow between myself and Kiyo. I am feeling good for tomorrow now."    

Gary Mason scored the Tsingtao Kawasaki team their first front row start in their first full season of MCE BSB as he qualified for Q3 for the first time, pushing Jon Kirkham on the Halsall Biker Gear Kawasaki back to fourth place to head the second row.

Josh Brookes will start from the second row in fifth place after he dropped down the order in the closing stages, but for his team-mate Tommy Bridewell the final Q3 session was over before it had started when he crashed at Farm on his out lap.

James Westmoreland completes the second row with Chris Walker setting the seventh fastest time on the leading Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki. The Stalker was narrowly ahead of his team-mate James Ellison who returned to the top ten. Dan Linfoot and Tommy Bridewell completed the top ten.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Silverstone, Datatag Extreme Qualifying:

1. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) 2m:10.141s
2. Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.799s
3. Gary Mason (Tsingtao Kawasaki) +1.390s
4. Jon Kirkham (Halsall Biker Gear Kawasaki) +2.465s
5. Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +2.755s
6. James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +3.056s
7. Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +3.314s
8. James Ellison (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +3.663s
9. Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +4.844s
10. Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha)

Datatag Extreme Qualifying from Silverstone