Kiyonari secures British Superbike crown

From britishsuperbike.com

Ryuichi Kiyonari won the final race of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season last Sunday to secure his third title for the HM Plant Honda team after fending off team-mate Josh Brookes on the final lap at Oulton Park.

Stuart Easton fired the Swan Honda off the line to lead into Old Hall for the first time but Michael Laverty snatched the lead on the inside into Lodge, while Kiyonari then took the lead from third place on the run over Deer Leap for the first time.

On the second lap Easton went wide into Shell Oils corners and James Ellison was through to third, but a crash from MSS Colchester Kawasaki's Gary Mason on the second lap bought out the Nissan GTR safety car at the end of the third lap. Michael Rutter made a lunge on the Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati into Old Hall when the race resumed and forced Easton wide on the run down to Island Bend and that gave his rivals the chance to get ahead and drop Easton to fourth.

Ellison moved up to second at Lodge on the fifth lap, as Rutter's season ended with disappointment when he was forced to retire and then it was the same for Easton as he suffered a technical problem on the second Swan Honda.

Brookes was on a charge and he was up to third by the eighth lap. He was piling the pressure on Michael Laverty for the position, before striking with a move up the inside at Lodge.

The battle was then between the two HM Plant Hondas as Brookes closed in but it wasn't enough to stop his team-mate and the pair took first and second respectively. Ellison had an immense battle with Michael Laverty to take his second podium finish of the weekend in third, with the Relentless Suzuki rider ending the race in fourth.

Tommy Hill ended fifth after the hard-working Worx Crescent Suzuki team got him back out on the grid for the final race, but he lost a place in the standings to end the year in third.

Motorpoint Yamaha's Loris Baz took his best result for the Motorpoint Yamaha team in sixth ahead of Alastair Seeley and John Laverty, who was the top of the Kawasaki riders in the final race of the season. Chris Walker and Dan Linfoot rounded out the top 10.

Race Results
1. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda)
2. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +0.639s
3. James Ellison (Swan Honda) +4.531s
4. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +7.794s
5. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +9.355s
6. Loris Baz (Motorpoint Yamaha) +10.721s
7. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +12.856s
8. John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +17.220s
9. Chris Walker (Sorrymate.com SMT Honda) +17.331s
10. Dan Linfoot (Motorpoint Yamaha) +22.881s

Final Standings
1. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 649
2. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) 625
3. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) 610
4. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 604
5. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) 559
6. Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 550