From a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

RAIN CUTS SUZUKI BSB PRACTICE

Rizla Suzuki’s John Reynolds and Yukio Kagayama were eager to get out and play in today’s practice sessions for the 13th and final round of the Think! British Superbike Championship at Donington Park, but wet conditions cut their on-track time short.

Neither racer was keen on riding with rain and puddles making the surface treacherous at every turn. Resurfaced since the last time the Championship visited here one-year ago, the track is now unpredictable and slippery in the wet.

Reynolds brought his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 home in fourth place on the time sheets after completing just eight laps. Kagayama carefully tiptoed his way round for 15-laps to finish sixth. Both riders are happy with their wet set-ups but are hoping for better weather for qualifying tomorrow and the racing on Sunday.

Rizla Suzuki is hoping to clinch the British Superbike Championship title with Reynolds this weekend as he leads the series by 43-points with just 50-points left to score. Kagayama is third in the overall standings and aims to retain that position to put two Rizla Suzuki’s on the Championship podium. Rizla Suzuki is already the newly crowned Think! British Superbike Manufacturers Champion with its awesome GSX-R1000.


John Reynolds:

“The new surface is very slippery in the wet and it is also inconsistent. Pick any corner and as you go through it the bike will grip, slide, grip and then slide again – it is very difficult to gauge the level of grip available.

“With that in mind, I didn’t fancy pushing myself today and took it easy for a few laps before calling it quits. My Rizla Suzuki feels good and there isn’t much to do to improve our wet set-up, so we will be competitive if we have to race in these conditions. I do hope it is dry tomorrow and Sunday though. As for the Championship race, I won’t even start thinking about that until Sunday evening!”

Yukio Kagayama:

“This circuit surface is much different from last time I raced here for Suzuki on the MotoGP bike. I think in dry conditions this is much faster, but in the wet, very, very slippery.

“I prefer dry conditions for qualifying and the race and hope this is case for the rest of weekend. My family is coming to watch from Japan and I do not want them to think it only ever rains in UK. That is what they see on television at home in Japan, but I hope we prove it wrong.”

Friday Practice times:


1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 1:44.591, 2: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.970, 3: Dean Thomas (Ducati) +2.385, 4: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +2.756, 5: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +2.862, 6: YUKIO KAGAYMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) +3.175, 7: Jon Kirkham (Suzuki) +4.155, 8: Kieran Clarke (Yamaha) +4.380, 9: John McGuinness (Kawasaki) +4.633, 10: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +4.677.


More, from a press release issued by MSS Discovery Kawasaki:

MSS DISCOVERY TRIO LOOKING TO FINAL ROUND GLORY

MSS Discovery’s three riders are looking to end the season on a high note in Sunday’s final round of the British Supersport Championship and National Superstock Championship at Donington Park, Leics.

Supersport star Riba fastest in Friday’s free practice at Donington believes he has the perfect opportunity to take his first win of the year.

“Donington Park is a circuit I know well and I’m convinced we can get the ZX-6RR Kawasaki dialled in for victory,” says Riba. “I don’t think the year has been too bad but I really would like to get a race win for the team.”

Riba adds: “Donington offers a different challenge, it’s a fast, sweeping circuit yet heavy on the brakes so the all-round set-up of the machine is crucial.”

MSS Discovery Kawasaki Superstock regular Steve Allan is once again joined by French sensation Julien da Costa.

Allan set the pace with the fastest time in Friday’s opening qualifying session and is ready for the challenge ahead as the final round offers a double-header, two-race format for the Superstock riders.

“At times we’ve never quite got the settings right this year but I’m very confident that Donington Park will suit the ZX-10R and I think the opening qualifying session, albeit wet, has proven that,” reckons Allan.

Da Costa is unbeaten this year from his two Superstock races so far ­ at Croft and Cadwell Park. He missed the last round at Oulton Park as he contested the Bol d’Or 24-hour race.

And da Costa’s two wins, added to Allan’s Knockhill victory, means the MSS Discovery squad could end the season with five wins from 13 rounds should they top the podium in both races at Donington Park.

“Winning both races is a tall order but that is what I’m here to do,” says a determined Da Costa, fifth fastest in Friday¹s opening qualifying action. “I’ve never raced at Donington Park before so it’s a new challenge but one that I am ready for.”


More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

SMARTY FIFTH FASTEST IN WET DONINGTON PRACTICE

Hawk Kawasaki star Scott Smart ignored the pain of a badly bruised shoulder to set the fifth fastest time during free practice for the thirteenth and final round of the THINK! British Superbike Championship, at Donington Park today.

Smarty, still battered and bruised from two crashes at Oulton Park last weekend, set a time of 1:47.453 around the 2.5 GP track in the wet and slippery conditions, but is sure there’s far more to come from the Hawk Kawasaki at the Leicestershire circuit.

“It’s not the grippiest place around here in the wet, especially on this new circuit,” he said. “But I really like the place and am looking forward to seeing what I can do in the dry. During the MotoGP weekend they discovered that this new surface is really grippy in the dry, but dodgy as hell in the wet. I’m still a little sore after last weekend, but as long as I’m gentle with the shoulder and don’t fall on it it’ll just give me mild discomfort – and once the adrenaline’s pumping it won’t be that bad.”

John McGuinness was also feeling the effects of the last round, in which he was taken out by Kieran Clarke, but ended the day in a strong ninth place: “In the first session I was still suffering a bit from my Oulton Park crash,” explained John. “When I’m walking about it’s not a problem, but when I got in the crouch position and stuck my legs out for the corners I got these really, really sharp pains in my pelvis, so I had to abort the first session. I saw the physio in between sessions and it’s much better now. Within five minutes of the second session I could turn-in a reasonably competitive lap. I don’t mind the rain and although it’s pretty slippy out there it’s progressively slippy, so you know where you are. Overall I feel pretty good. If I can qualify on the front two rows tomorrow I’ll be over the moon.”

His team-mate, Glen Richards, ended the day just one place behind the Lancastrian in tenth.

“I had a little bit of a tootle around today because it’s wet and we’ve not done any laps around here on the ZX-10 before,” said Richards. “The bike feels pretty good and I think I could go quicker still because I’m not at full speed yet – it is only Friday, after all. We’ve got a few things up our sleeves which we’ll try tomorrow and we should be right there on the pace.”

Hawk Kawasaki National Superstock Cup star Peter Hickman rode maturely in the damp conditions, building his pace steadily to eventually end first qualifying in a strong third position.

“That was good fun,” he said. “Right from the start the rear tyre was spinning with anything more than half throttle. Early on I got caught behind a few people who weren’t as fast through the turns, so I slowed down to get a faster run of the track. After that I was able to get a rhythm going. I was shutting off early for the corners, hardly using the brakes so I could hold the corner speed. That way I didn’t have to accelerate hard and upset the rear tyre. The rear we used wasn’t soft enough, but we should be able to get a better tyre tomorrow. I’m faster than Simon Wright at the moment and that was my aim, so I’m happy.”


BSB PRACTICE

1) Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 1:44.591. 2) Michael Rutter, Honda, 1:45.461. 3) Dean Thomas, Ducati, 1:46.976. 4) John Reynolds, Suzuki, 1:47.347. 5) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:47.453. 6) Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, 1:47.766. 7) Jon Kirkham, Suzuki (P), 1:48.746. 8) Kieran Clarke, Yamaha, 1:48.971. 9) John McGuinness, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:49.224. 10) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:49.268. 11) Gus Scott, Suzuki (P), 1:49.372. 12) Stephane Mertens, Yamaha, 1:50.975. 13) Howie Mainwaring, Honda (P), 1:50.985. 14) Gary Mason, Yamaha, 1:51.065. 15) James Buckingham, Suzuki (P), 1:52.052

(P) = Privateer

NATIONAL SUPERSTOCK CUP PRACTICE

1) Paul Shoesmith, Yamaha, 1:51.253. 2) John Fisher, Suzuki, 1:51.306. 3) Peter Hickman, Hawk Kawasaki, 1:52.026. 4) Mark Turner, Kawasaki, 1:52.349. 5) Charles Reynolds, Kawasaki, 1:52.974. 6) Phil Stewart, Yamaha, 1:52.995. 7) Stu Wilson, Suzuki, 1:53.177. 8) Graham Seward, Suzuki, 1:53.358. 9) Dan Stewart, Suzuki, 1:53.548. 10) Simon Wright, Yamaha, 1:53.730