Rizla Suzuki’s John Reynolds showed encouraging high-speed potential in his comeback races at the sixth round of the British Superbike Championship at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire today. Starting from the fourth row of the grid, the reigning British Superbike Champion – who missed the previous two rounds of the series as he recovered from injury – displayed a dazzling turn of speed while carving through back markers in the first race. He recorded the sixth fastest lap of the race but his heroics came to an abrupt end when he collided with a slower rider while fighting for a top 10 finish. In the second race Reynolds made a fantastic start and was up to sixth and in podium contention on the fifth lap when it started to rain. The race was stopped and restarted again in dry but drizzling conditions. Immediately a three-rider crash caused the safety car to be called out. The weather continued to get worse and he brought his Rizla Suzuki home safely in 12th while on slick tyres. Team mate Scott Smart took a pair of 13th place finishes as he continues to try and find an elusive set-up on his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 that will allow him to race at the front of the pack. John Reynolds: “After crashing out of the opening race, I made it my priority to finish the second. The weather was awful; the race was interrupted by a stoppage and a safety car; and the track was treacherously damp. The best I could do was 12th under those conditions. “We had a dreadful time in qualifying yesterday but at least we proved we have the speed to run with the leaders in the race today. There is absolutely nothing wrong with my Rizla Suzuki – the bike just needs to be ridden harder and faster.” Scott Smart: “The weather was horrible today and it was extremely difficult to race with the track slightly damp in both races. That is no excuse for my performances though. Put simply, I need to build more confidence riding my Rizla Suzuki. “I have spoken with Norris Farrow, my crew chief, and we are going to use a test at Donington to try some pretty major changes to the chassis and look at a completely different set-up than we are using at the moment. The main positive from this weekend was my race starts: They were much better and that is good news.” Robert Wicks – Team Manager: “The most frustrating thing this weekend was the fact we did not build on the momentum we built on Friday and Saturday morning when we were competing for front row positions. We fell foul of poor weather conditions during final qualification and the races. “The weekend has ended positively though, with ‘JR’ coming back to racing and showing exactly the right mental attitude and approach. He also proved his injury is no longer a concerning factor and that is a big weight off all our minds. “Well done to the entire team for an incredible amount of effort on a difficult weekend. We will now go to Donington Park for a very comprehensive test and for it to be the turning point of our season.” Race 1 Result: 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 29:58.160, 2: Michael Rutter (Honda) +5.382, 3: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +17.352, 4: Michael Laverty (Honda) +24.018, 5: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +26.001, 6: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +26.474, 7: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +29.683, 8: James Haydon (Yamaha) +35.204, 9: Gary Mason (Honda) +35.477, 10: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +36.541. 13: Scott Smart (Rizla Suzuki) +46.402. DNF John Reynolds (Rizla Suzuki). Race 2 Result: 1: Lavilla 20:10.015, 2: Rutter +0.775, 3: Kiyonari +0.984, 4: Richards +2.132, 5: Mason +2.902, 6: Thomas +7.024, 7: Steve Plater (Kawasaki) + 21.153, 8: Kieran Clarke (Honda) +21.670, 9: Steve Brogan (Honda) +21.845, 10: John Laverty (Honda) +32.538. 12: John Reynolds (Rizla Suzuki) +39.823. 13: Scott Smart (Rizla Suzuki) +40.536. Championship Positions (after six of 13 rounds): 1: Rutter 235, 2: Lavilla 190, 3: Kiyonari 182, 4: Richards 138, 5: Haslam 130, 6: Karl Harris (Honda) 102, 7: Thomas 85, 8: Sean Emmett (Yamaha) 79, 9: Mason 72, 10: Scott Smart (Rizla Suzuki) 68. 18: John Reynolds (Rizla Suzuki) 20.