Kiyonari out of Brands Hatch Indy with broken collarbone
Ryuichi Kiyonari has been ruled out of round three of the 2016 MCE British Superbike championship at Brands Hatch Indy after breaking his left collarbone in a crash during free practice two at the Kent track.
The three-time BSB champion had been leading proceedings during FP2 before he lost the front end of his Bennetts Suzuki at Graham Hill Bend and crashed heavily.
After being assessed at the medical centre it was confirmed Kiyonari had sustained a break in his left collarbone, the same injury he suffered when fighting for the 2014 BSB title in the final round at the same track.
Bennetts Suzuki has confirmed the Japanese rider will miss the race weekend at the Kent track and is aiming for a return after the mid-season break at Knockhill on the 24-26 June.
"I'm very disappointed because I was feeling really good and really fast on my bike, but unfortunately I made a small mistake and it has ended my weekend," Kiyonari said. "I didn't have enough load on the front as I braked for turn three, and it's tucked underneath me. It's gone from upright, which is why I went down quite hard and have fractured my collarbone.
"It is a shame because I set a quick time quite early in the session and maybe could have gone faster, I wasn't pushing too much from the start, so it is a real shame.
"I'm sorry for the team because I was feeling confident and they were working hard. Now I will focus on getting fit for the next round. There is a bit of time, and I'm hoping to be back for a test at Snetterton, but definitely for Knockhill."
As a result, Martin Halsall's squad will be reduced to a one-rider entry with Tommy Bridewell this weekend and he is hugely disappointed after Kiyonari and the team had made strong progress with the Suzuki GSX-R1000.
"This is a tough one to take. We had a bit of a difficult start to the season, but after the disappointment at Oulton Park we were really looking for a positive weekend," Halsall said. "It started well, with Kiyo in a strong P10 after the the opening session. We made some changes and he was instantly fast in FP2, heading to the top of the time sheets early on but unfortunately bad luck has struck again.
"It's especially hard to stomach when the time he set was still good enough for fourth in the session, and we had every confidence we could see Kiyo up the front this weekend. Luckily we have a bit of a break before the fourth round, so we'll now help him focus on getting fit for Knockhill at the end of June."
