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2005 BRITISH SBK

ROUND 5, MONDELLO PARK - 2005 BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

CIRCUIT:

• Location: County Kildare; 5 miles from Naas and 25 miles from Dublin
• 2.177 mile circuit
• Lap record: 1m 40.731, Reynolds, Suzuki
• 2004 winners: R1: Smart, Kawasaki R2: Rutter, Honda CBR1000RR

SCHEDULE:

• Friday
  10.30 - 11.10 British Supersport Free Practice 1
  11.20 - 12.10 British Superbike Free Practice 1
  12.20 - 12.50 British 125cc Free Practice 1
  13.00 - 13.30 National Superstock Championship Free Practice 1
  14.10 - 14.50 British Supersport Free Practice 2
  15.00 - 15.50 British Superbike Free Practice 2
  16.00 - 16.30 British 125cc Free Practice 2
  16.40 - 17.10 National Superstock Championship Free Practice 2
• Saturday
  10.00 - 10.30 National Superstock Qualifying 1
  10.40 - 11.20 British Supersport Qualifying 1
  11.30 - 12.20 British Superbike Qualifying 1
  12.30 - 13.00 British 125cc Qualifying 1
  14.00 - 14.40 British Supersport Qualifying 2
  14.50 - 15.40 British Superbike Qualifying 2
  15.50 - 16.20 National Superstock Qualifying 2
  16.30 - 17.00 British 125cc Qualifying 2
• Sunday
  10.00 - 10.15 British Superbike Warm up
  10.25 - 10.40 British 125cc Warm up
  10.50 - 11.05 British Supersport Warm up
  11.15 - 11.30 National Superstock Warm up
  11.45 - 12.30 Pit Walk
  13.15 Bennetts British Superbike Championship 18 laps
  14.05 British 125GP Championship - Failte Ireland Trophy 12 laps
  14.50 Metabo British Supersport Championship 16 laps
  15.45 Bennetts British Superbike Championship 18 laps
  16.35 Metzeler National Superstock Championship 15 laps

RACE RESULT:

• KIYONARI: “Today has been very difficult for me under the most challenging of conditions. It was the first time that I have completed two races since round two at Thruxton in early April. So, I was very tired towards the end of the second race. It was a new track for me and I found it difficult to learn. I don’t like to beaten in any circumstances, but I have to be happy with a first and a third today.”
• RUTTER: “I can’t really complain about today’s results. I gave myself a lot of work to do by failing to qualify on the front row and the competition was really strong here this weekend. The main thing is that I still have a strong advantage at the head of the championship standings. I’m looking forward to trying to extend that on the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade at Croft, where we went well last year.”

SBK RACE 1

• 1 R. Kiyonari (Honda)
  2 M. Rutter (Honda) +7.7
  3 G. Lavilla (Ducati) +8.1
  4 K. Harris (Honda)
  5 S. Smart (Suzuki)
  6 M. Laverty (Honda)
  7 S. Emmett (Yamaha)
  8 G. Mason (Honda)
  9 J. McWilliams (Honda)
  10 J. Haydon (Suzuki)

SBK RACE 2

• 1 G. Lavilla (Ducati)
  2 L. Haslam (Ducati) +0.01
  3 R. Kiyonari (Honda) +0.38
  4 M. Laverty (Honda) +1.5
  5 M. Rutter (Honda) +3.5
  6 G. Richards (Kawasaki) +7.4
  7 K. Harris (Honda)
  8 S. Smart (Suzuki)
  9 G. Mason (Honda)
  10 J. McWilliams (Honda)

GRID

• 1 J . Rea (Honda) 1m 39.344
  2 G. Richards (Kawasaki)
  3 L. Haslam (Ducati)
  4 R. Kiyonari (Honda)
  5 M. Rutter (Honda)

SUPERBIKE REPORT: King Kiyo returns

• HM Plant Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari left his 2005 Bennetts British Superbike Championship rivals in no doubt that he had returned to the ultra-competitive series after an action-packed fifth round at Mondello Park. The Japanese rider scored an impressive victory and a third position while his team-mate Michael Rutter joined him on the podium for race one to maintain his championship lead.
• Kiyonari grabbed the holeshot in the first leg from fourth place on the grid and led his first race at the 2.176-mile circuit from start to finish to take his fifth victory of the year. The 22-year-old was in a class of his own as he set an impressively consistent pace aboard the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade, proving to be untouchable by the rest of the pack.
• Rutter recovered from a collision with Red Bull Honda's Jonathan Rea on the approach to the first corner on the opening lap to make it another HM Plant Honda Racing one-two – the third of the season. Rutter adopted a watching brief behind Kiyonari, Richards and Haslam, before the latter two made mistakes, which culminated in their early retirements.
• Race two however was more challenging for the HM Plant Honda Racing duo. Kiyonari struggled to find a way past Leon Haslam before he lost out a further position to eventual race winner Gregorio Lavilla. The factory Fireblade rider had to settle for third after trying everything in his armoury to pass his adversaries on the tight and twisty circuit. Kiyonari's impressive points tally has moved him up to third overall in the championship, despite missing the last two rounds due to injury.
• His HM Plant Honda Racing team-mate had to work hard in race two to recover from an indifferent start on the outside of the second row. By the time that Rutter had fought through to the end of the leading group, there was nothing that the popular Leicestershire rider could do about the podium battle in the closing stages and he had to settle for fifth. Rutter now takes a healthy 46-point lead to the next round at Croft in three weeks, but not before he competes in the non-championship International North West 200 in Northern Ireland next Saturday.

SUPERSPORT RACE REPORT: HONDA

• Northpoint Honda Racing rider Craig Jones took the lead in the British Supersport Championship at round 5 of the series at Mondello Park, Ireland, at the weekend. The 20-year-old from Peterborough took an impressive 2nd place in the hotly contested Supersport race, which hoisted him to the top of the Championship tables.
• Once again Jones' team-mate, 19-year-old Cal Crutchlow took his second Pole Position of the season and dominated for half of the 16-lap race. Struggling with grip towards the end the youngster from Coventry still managed to score an impressive 4th position missing out on his second podium of the year by 0.001 from Pere Riba in an epic dash to the finish line.
• Jones could only salvage 9th position on the grid commenting 'I had a few problems during qualifying and only managed a third row start which meant that I had left myself with a lot of work to do. As the lights changed I got my head down and managed to work my way through the field, I made a few daring-passing manoeuvres, which thankfully paid off. I must thank the team for all their efforts and hard work over the weekend, I'm glad I managed to get on the podium and now I'm leading the Championship which is a huge bonus.'
• A slightly disappointed Crutchlow said 'Obviously I would have liked to have taken the win, I got a great start and was leading for a lot of the race. I had a few rear grip problems mid way through which I think was mainly down to the hot track temperature. I had Pere in my sights for the last corner but didn't want us both to end in the gravel, I wasn't sure when I crossed the line who got third but the Spaniard beat me by a fraction. I was extremely happy to get Pole Position again and hopefully soon I can take my first win for the team.'
• Backing up their comments Team Principle Gary Ekerold commented 'Once again the team have found consistency throughout the weekend and we have all the basics right now. We've managed to take the lead in the Championship, which is our main priority and Cal has moved up another position to 5th. It really was a fantastic team effort and they all worked incredible hard and well together. Northpoint Honda Racing are certainly showing they are a great force to be reckoned with in the British Superbike Paddock.'

PRE RACE:

• John Morris (MD Mondello Park): "BSB's third trip to Mondello sees a championship that has grown massively since its original visit in 2003. We are delighted to once again host such an important and prestigious event, which will most likely be the biggest sporting event in the country on May 15th. BSB Mondello is only possibly through the assistance of Failte Ireland who recognise the importance of the event to County Kildare and the greater Dublin area and we sincerely thank them for their foresight".
• James Haydon will ride for injured John Reynolds
  REYNOLDS: "Mondello is a very tight, twisty, bumpy circuit. You’re straight into it from the first turn. You have to double back on yourself and it can be a recipe for disaster if you don’t get it right. There are five or six really tricky bends and the last one is a very tight hairpin. If you’re in front, this is one where you can easily get overtaken. That happened to me a few years ago on the last lap. The bumpy surface makes it a particularly difficult track. You’ve really got to take that into account when you’re pushing it round the corners. It’s just like when you’re on the road. You’ve got to ride to the road conditions. Coming up to the fifth race, Rutter’s got a good lead. Michael came off here last year, so maybe on a track like this one, he’ll just try to survive and score as many points as he can. I’m now confirmed for testing at Croft in just a couple of weeks. I can’t wait to get back on the bike. I’m back in the gym, training as hard as I can. I’m feeling strong."

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