British Superbike, Round 13, Brands
Hatch
The 2006 British Superbike
Championship ended at the same venue where
it started back in March of this year.
The final results found Ryuichi Kiyonari
in first place with 466 points with Leon Haslam taking a
close second with 458 points. Gregorio Lavilla
took third with a distant 377 points on his Ducati.
Suzuki Report - Rizla Suzuki's Shane 'Shakey'
Byrne crashed out of the first race at the final round
of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands
Hatch today while fighting bravely for a podium finish
in treacherous damp conditions.
Byrne was holding third with only a
handful of laps remaining when his rear tire touched the
painted white line at the bottom of Paddock Hill bend.
The tyre slid and he crashed at over 120mph, causing the
race to be stopped. Due to concussion he was
forced to miss the second event.
Rizla Suzuki's James Haydon finished
ninth and sixth in the two weather-interrupted dramatic
races, showing real determination in only his second
race meeting back after missing four rounds due to
injury.
Ducati's Leon Haslam won the second race
but Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari won the first and was
runner up in the next to take the 2007 British Superbike
Championship title. Shakey finished sixth and
Haydon 15th overall.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP's John Hopkins
delighted the capacity Brands Hatch crowd with a string
of demonstration laps aboard his ear-splitting GSV-R990.
The MotoGP ace then spent the rest of the day with the
Rizla Suzuki Superbike team, enjoying the race action.
Rizla Suzuki is back on track in two
weeks time at the Race of the Year at Mallory Park in
Leicestershire.
Shane Byrne: "I am disappointed
to have finished the season with a crash. I have been on
fire all weekend and really thought I could have won or
at least got on the podium, but the damp conditions
caught me out and I suffered a pretty big crash that
gave me concussion and ruled me out of the second race.
"It's been a challenging season but on a
positive note I enjoyed riding this weekend and now know
what it's going to take to win the title in 2007.
I'll be back more determined than ever."
Robert Wicks - Team Manager:
Well done to Ryuichi Kiyonari for winning the 2007
British Superbike
Championship. He is a worthy Champion and the team
is genuinely pleased for him.
"Thanks to all of the sponsors and the
army of loyal Rizla Suzuki fans that have supported the
team all season through thick and thin. Rizla
Suzuki goes to the Race of the Year in two weeks time
and has already started planning for the 2007 season.
We'll be back to challenge Kiyo for his number one
plate at the opening round next year."
Race One Result: 1: Ryuichi
Kiyonari (Honda) 19:45.196, 2: Leon Haslam (Ducati)
+0.181, 3: Michael Rutter (Honda) +16.501, 4: Tommy Hill
(Yamaha) +32.561, 5: Glen Richards (Honda) +35.694, 6:
Scott Smart (Suzuki) +1-lap, 7: Ben Wilson (Suzuki)
+1-lap, 8: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +1-lap, 9: James
Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) +1 lap, 10: Chris Martin (Honda)
+1-lap.
Race Two Result: 1: Haslam
22:02.916, 2: Kiyonari +8.772, 3: Jonathan Rea (Honda)
+14.698, 4: Karl Harris (Honda) +17.939, 5: Michael
Laverty (Honda) +27.586, 6: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki)
+32.449, 7: Billy McConnell (Yamaha) +38.623, 8: Rutter
+40.544, 9: Richards (Honda) +41.621, 10: Wilson
+1:03.322.
Final Championship Standings: 1:
Kiyonari 466, 2: Haslam 458, 3: Gregorio Lavilla
(Ducati) 377, 4: Rea 248, 5: Harris 244, 6: Shane Byrne
(Rizla Suzuki) 224, 7: Rutter 206, 8: Hill 187, 9:
Laverty 179, 10: Richards 151, 15: James Haydon (Rizla
Suzuki) 77.
