05/04/09 - Kiyonari unable to convert in Spain
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Ten Kate Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari was unable to convert his practice times into significant race results in today’s two 23-lap third round World Superbike championship races at Valencia in Spain.
Both encounters were won by Kiyonari’s compatriot, Noriyuki Haga, as the Honda Genuine Accessories-backed rider finished in 12th and ninth places at the 4.005km Ricardo Tormo circuit.
Kiyonari had shown good pace on race tyres during the early part of the weekend, but a difficult Superpole yesterday left the Japanese rider in ninth place on the grid. and he found it more difficult to match the times in today’s races.
Ryuichi Kiyonari – 12th & 9th
In the first race, I thought on the sighting lap that the rear felt a little strange but thought it was just because the tyre was cold. When the race started I knew I was going to have some problems and I nearly highsided on the way into the first right-hander at turn three. I had no grip for the remaining 23 laps so 12th was the best I could do. In race two, the start was OK but Troy Corser ran into the side of me in the last turn early on and I lost some time and a few positions. The grip was a little better after we changed the settings, so I was able to regain some places. I caught Biaggi near the end but did not have enough to get past. Valencia is still not my favourite circuit, but I like Assen so I’m looking forward to going there.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
Kiyo-san has shown that he can do the times of the fastest riders when he is on race tyres. We need to convert that into good qualifying positions and an ability to match those times under racing conditions, which is very different to doing one fast lap. We clearly have work to do and we will be doing nothing else between now and the first practice session at Assen. This is our home race and, of course, we want to perform much better there and for the rest of this season.
2009 World Superbike championship, round three – Valencia, Spain
4.005km, 23 laps – results, race one:
1 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati 36’44.766s
2 Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati +3.677s
3 Max Neukirchner (GER) Suzuki +3.959s
4 Regis Laconi (FRA) Ducati +4.210s
5 Leon Haslam (GBR) Honda +13.824s
12 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing
Race two:
1 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati 36’46.927s
2 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha +5.105s
3 Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati +6.386s
4 Regis Laconi (FRA) Ducati +6.573s
5 Leon Haslam (GBR) Honda +14.075s
6 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +17.333s
9 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing +21.015s
13 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
Championship points after three of 14 rounds:
Haga 135, Spies 95, Neukirchner 65, Fabizio 60, Haslam 58, Laconi 56, Rea 33, Kiyonari 32, Checa 31
Next round: Assen, Netherlands – 24-26 April