Ryuichi Kiyonari sits on his HM Plant Honda waiting for his turn to race in the wet at the Northwich Thundersprint
Ryuichi Kiyonari (清成龍一?) (born September 23, 1982, in Saitama, Japan) is a professional motorcycle road racer. He is the 2006 and 2007 British Superbike champion, and he currently rides for Hannspree Ten Kate Honda in the Superbike World Championship. He also won the 2008 Suzuka 8-Hour race, teamed with his regular WSBK team-mate Carlos Checa. He has a reputation for being at his best when leading races from the front. Kiyonari first raced in 1988 in motocross, which he later stated that he did not especially enjoy. He began circuit racing in 1996, and first raced in the All-Japan 125cc Championship in 1998. He continued in this class until 2001, with a shortage of big results, other than 9th place in the 2000 Suzuka 8-Hour race. However, for 2002 he switched to the All-Japan Supersport championship, which he won with four victories. He also took an All-Japan Superbike Championship victory at TI Aida. He moved to MotoGP in early 2003 to replace the late Daijiro Kato in Fausto Gresini's Telefónica Movistar team. However, he received little support within the team, especially as team-mate Sete Gibernau challenged for the title, and failed to score much in the way of results. There were eight minor points finishes, leaving him 19th overall with a best of 11th. After coming 6th overall in the British Superbike Championship in 2004, 'Kiyo' won the first four races of 2005, before injuring his ankle in a heavy crash in round 5. He was back for round 9, and retook the championship lead from team-mate Michael Rutter, but eventually was overhauled by the improving Ducati of Lavilla and he finished the season runner up. He also raced in the Valencia Grand Prix for Sito Pons' Camel Honda team, finishing in the points.
Size: 3400px × 5100px
Location: Northwich Cheshire England
Photo credit: © John Hopkins / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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