Kiyonari gets Camel Honda for Valencia!

23-year-old Japanese rider Ryuichi Kiyonari - not Shane Byrne - will replace the injured Troy Bayliss at Camel Honda for the final MotoGP race of the 2005 season, the Valencia Grand Prix on Sunday.

Kiyonari, who finished second in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship after winning 12 races for HM Plant Honda, only learnt of his selection at the BSB Championship Awards Ceremony in Birmingham this afternoon (Tuesday).

Bayliss has been absent since mid-September after sustaining a badly broken wrist in a Motocross accident, but was hoping to return for his MotoGP farewell this weekend - the Australian having already signed to ride for Ducati Xerox in World Superbike next season.

However, if Bayliss didn't return, former BSB Champion Shane 'Shakey' Byrne was expected to be given the ride. Byrne had already replaced Bayliss for two rounds, before handing the bike to Suzuki bound Chris Vermeulen. Byrne only learnt of Honda's last minute decision to hand Kiyonari the ride this morning.

Valencia will thus mark a MotoGP return for Kiyonari, who was thrust from relative obscurity as the Japanese Supersport champion into the MotoGP limelight when he was called up to replace Daijiro Kato, following the #74's death at the 2003 Suzuka season-opener.

Kiyonari, riding as Sete Gibernau's team-mate at Telefonica Movistar Honda, joined the series at round four, the French Grand Prix, but would struggle to adapt to the RC211V prototype and went on to take a best finish of 11th (twice) from his 13 starts that season. 'Kiyo' eventually finished 22nd in the championship standings.

Nevertheless, HRC kept faith in the youngster and sent him to BSB to ride for their factory HM Plant Honda team the following season - where he soon began to flourish. Kiyonari is due to stay in BSB for a third crack at the title next year, but this weekend will aim to prove that he can indeed master a MotoGP machine.