Yukio Kagayama has said 'sorry' to the Suzuki Alstare Brux team after their dismal World Superbike weekend at Donington Park came to an end with just three points to show for.

Featuring a revised rider line-up of Kagayama and AMA Superbike standout Blake Young, although the latter had been given his chance with 'no pressure' to succeed, Kagayama was expected to perform well at a circuit he knows intimately from his time in the British Superbike Championship.

However, the Japanese rider struggled from the start of the weekend, qualifying a lowly 18th and progressing just a single position in the opening race.

The second race proved more fruitful for Kagayama, but while he scored points for his 13th place finish, he went on to claim that the result is 'no better than a privateer'

“This weekend was not an easy one because we had problems with rear grip. We tried many different things over the weekend (suspension, geometry, gear ratios), but we were not able to improve the bike. We also tried a different swinging-arm for race two, but no big change, although he feeling was a bit better.

“All in all it was a frustrating time for me and my team. I know that they worked as hard as they could and I know that I rode as hard as I could, but we did not get any good results. I am a very experienced rider and my team is very knowledgeable, but we still could not find any solutions.

"I am sorry for Francis and the whole team, because our results today were no better than a privateer.”

With Max Neukirchner scheduled to return to action at the upcoming Brno round of the series, Suzuki's best representative in the overall standings, Kagayama, remains just 12th in the standings. The team are also 31 points behind returnees Aprilia in the manufacturer table.