Ryuichi Kiyonari is looking for a strong result to finish the season this weekend as he fights to come back from injury.
The Ten Kate Honda rider broke his right collarbone just over two weeks ago during race one of the last round at Magny-Cours, this mirros the injury he suffered at the French track last year.
Since the accident the Japanese rider has spent time receiving medical treatment and recovering at home, “I have been recovering in Japan, after breaking my collarbone again at the last round in Magny-Cours. It was a shame because I felt that we were beginning to find some improvement and a better feeling on the bike.”
It’s been a tough season for the double British Superbike champion, but Kiyonari is looking forward to a stron finish going in to the last round.
“It has been a difficult season and, at times, I have had some problems finding the right setting, but I want to try my best to finish the season with some good results. I struggled a little bit at Portimao last year, but I think that was because it was a new circuit for me.” he said.
Team manager Ronald ten Kate couldn’t shy away from the tough season they’ve had with Kiyonari saying “It's been a tough season – there is no getting away from that. However, in recent races, Kiyonari-san has shown signs of finding a setting on the CBR1000RR with which he is comfortable.”
Despite strong showings in qualifying, Kiyonari has failed to convert the positions to results.
“Unfortunately, we have struggled to convert that into good qualifying positions, which, in turn, has led to some problems during the races. Kiyo was trying to make up some ground during race one at Magny-Cours and ended up crashing and breaking his collarbone again.”
“We hope that his injury will not prevent him from ending the season and his time as a Ten Kate rider with a strong performance. Kiyo is a great rider and a great ambassador for the sport and we have really enjoyed working with him for these last two years.”
