Ryuichi Kiyonari

Kiyonari in Buildbase BMW colours acknowledging spectators' plaudits at Brands Hatch Showdown podium, end of BSB season 2014

Nationality

Japanese

Born

September 23, 1982
Saitama, Japan

Current team

Smiths Racing

Bike number

Motorcycle racing career statistics

British Superbike Championship

Active years

2004 - 2008 , 2010-2014

Manufacturers

Honda, BMW, Suzuki

Championships

2015 championship position

18th (32pts)

Starts	Wins	Podiums	Poles	F. laps	Points
239	50	97	33	38	1509

Ryuichi Kiyonari (清成龍一) (born September 23, 1982, in Saitama, Japan) is a professional motorcycle road racer. He currenttly rides a BMW S1000RR in the British Superbike Championship. He is the 2006, 2007 and 2010 British Superbike champion and enjoys particular fame and popularity amongst British motorcycle race fans due to his success and genuine personality. He raced for Honda Asia in 2012.^[1] He also won the 2008 Suzuka 8-Hour race, teamed with his former WSBK team-mate Carlos Checa. He has a reputation for being at his best when leading races from the front.

Early years

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 1999 and spent the 2000 and 2001 season in the All-Japan 250cc Championship, with a shortage of big results, other than 9th place in the 2000 Suzuka 8 Hours race. However, for 2002 he switched to the All-Japan ST600 championship, which he won with four victories. He also took an All-Japan Superbike Championship victory at TI Aida.

MotoGP

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 20th overall with a best of 11th.

By season

Season	Class	Moto	Team	Race	Win	Pod	Pole	FLap	Pts	Plcd	WCh
2003	MotoGP	RC211V	Telefonica Gresini Honda	13	0	0	0	0	22	20	–
Total				13	0	0	0	0	0		0

British Superbike Championship

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.

In 2006 Ducati again had the upper hand early in the season, with Kiyonari closest to their riders, Lavilla and Leon Haslam. A double victory at Silverstone in the penultimate round kept him in close contention for the title. However, in the double point final round at Brands Hatch, after a win in race one (he was leading when Shane Byrne's heavy crash caused a stoppage - much to Haslam's visible frustration), Kiyonari only needed to finish third in the final race. Kiyonari finished 2nd in the shortened race behind Haslam, thus winning the championship by 8 points.

Kiyonari in 2007

The 2007 season started at Brands Hatch, a track Kiyo admits he does not like, and his results there were unspectacular, with Jonathan Rea and Leon Camier performing better on their Hondas. However, he took a double win in round three, and a further win in race 2 at Oulton Park, to lie second to Lavilla after four rounds. Finally defended his British champion status at Brands Hatch to win the championship for the second time in succession.

Superbike World Championship

In 2008 Ryuichi Kiyonari made his Superbike World Championship debut, having reached an agreement with the reigning champion team Ten Kate Honda, to partner Carlos Checa and Kenan Sofuoğlu.

In the second race at Monza, Kiyonari nearly had his first SBK win. Kiyonari was in front as they braked for the final entry into the Parabolica but went wide on the exit and Noriyuki Haga and Max Neukirchner edged him out - Haga for the win and Neukirchner claiming second by a gap of just .009. Kiyonari finished third with a gap of .051, his first Superbike podium. His first two wins came at Brands Hatch, beating Troy Bayliss in race 1 and Noriyuki Haga in race 2. He briefly led the very next race at Donington Park, but fell on lap 2. However, he did win the second race in very wet conditions, visibly sliding the rear end of his bike on many occasions. Kiyonari broke his collarbone in a testing crash at Magny Cours, 2 weeks prior to the event, meaning he missed the race.

For 2009, Kiyo stayed with the Ten Kate Honda team, partnering Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea. His bike was backed by Honda Europe rather than Hannspree. After a somewhat unsuccessful season, he finished 11th in the championship standings.

Return to British Superbikes

In September 2009, Kiyonari returned to British Superbikes to make a wildcard appearance at Croft Circuit, replacing the injured Glen Richards.^[2] He finished fourth in race one before finishing race two in 18th position.

In December 2009, he was confirmed as one of HM Plant Honda's riders for the 2010 British Superbike Championship season,^[3] partnering Australian rider Josh Brookes. At Cadwell Park he won race one but retired from race two before it began, due to a technical problem on the warm-up lap.^[4] He scored a double win at Mallory Park, lifting him to fourth overall in the standings.^[5]

2011 saw Kiyonari stay with HM Plant Honda in the British Superbike Championship, alongside two time BSB Champion Shane Byrne. He finished 6th overall.^[6]

FIM Asia Road Racing Championship

For the 2012 season, Kiyonari headed to Asia, spearheading Malaysian team Boon Siew Honda Malaysia Racing as they aspire to lift the FIM Asian SuperSports 600cc trophy. He went on to win the 2012 Asia Road Racing Championship title.

Return again to the British Superbike Championship

In 2013 Kiyonari once again returned to the BSB, racing with his old team Samsung Honda. He finished 6th overall.

In December 2013, his management agency, Speed of Japan announced that Kiyonari would be racing with Buildbase BMW in the BSB in 2014. This news shocked many fans and others in racing as some thought that Kiyonari would never move away from Honda. Kiyonari's move to BMW was his first ever race with a manufacturer other than Honda, followed in 2016 by a switch to Suzuki.

FIM World Endurance Championship Suzuka 8 Hours

One of the most prestigious race for Japanese riders, Kiyonari has 4 wins to his name at the Suzuka 8 Hours. He is the rider with most wins that is currently still active.

Career Statistics

Supersport World Championship

Races by year

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos.	Pts
2003	Honda	SPA	AUS	JPN 2	ITA	GER	GBR	SMR	GBR	NED	ITA	FRA	21st	20

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Races by year

(key)

Year	Class	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pos.	Pts
2003	MotoGP	Honda	JPN	RSA	SPA	FRA 13	ITA 13	CAT 11	NED 17	GBR 14	GER 18	CZE 15	POR 16	BRA 15	PAC 11	MAL 21	AUS 19	VAL 14		20th	22
2005	MotoGP	Honda	SPA	POR	CHN	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	USA	GBR	GER	CZE	JPN	MAL	QAT	AUS	TUR	VAL 12	25th	4

Superbike World Championship

Races by year

Year	Make	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		12		13		14		Pos.	Pts
Year	Make	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	Pos.	Pts
2008	Honda	QAT 22	QAT 19	AUS 9	AUS 6	SPA Ret	SPA 4	NED 7	NED Ret	ITA 6	ITA 3	USA 10	USA 7	GER 12	GER 11	SMR 14	SMR 13	CZE 5	CZE 6	GBR 1	GBR 1	EUR Ret	EUR 1	ITA Ret	ITA 13	FRA	FRA	POR 8	POR 11	9th	206
2009	Honda	AUS Ret	AUS 23	QAT 8	QAT 4	SPA 12	SPA 9	NED 15	NED Ret	ITA 3	ITA 3	RSA 12	RSA 13	USA 4	USA 5	SMR Ret	SMR 14	GBR 10	GBR 7	CZE 13	CZE 13	GER 14	GER 7	ITA 5	ITA 17	FRA Ret	FRA DNS	POR DNS	POR DNS	11th	141
2010	Honda	AUS	AUS	POR	POR	SPA	SPA	NED	NED	ITA	ITA	RSA	RSA	USA	USA	SMR	SMR	CZE	CZE	GBR 21	GBR 16	GER	GER	ITA	ITA	FRA	FRA			NC	0

References

↑ "Kiyonari to race for Honda Asia". BSN. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
↑ "Kiyonari makes BSB return". Insidebikes. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
↑ "Kiyonari confirmed by HM Plant Honda". Insidebikes. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
↑ "Brookes ensures HM Plant double". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 2010-05-23. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
↑ "Kiyonari double lifts him into contention". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
↑ "BSB final standings 2011" (PDF). Motorsportvision. Retrieved 2011-12-16.

External links

sportnetwork.net Rider profile
Speed of Japan Kiyonari's management agency

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