'Nothing to lose' as HM Plant returns to Silverstone

Ryuichi Kiyonari says he and HM Plant Honda team-mate Josh Brookes will 'have nothing to lose' when the British Superbike title shootout resumes at Silverstone following a disappointing Croft outing.

Kiyonari and Brookes began the Croft event - the first of three showdown rounds - right on the tail of Tommy Hill, but both riders struggled for form and have now dropped 27 and 28 points behind respectively.

Nonetheless, HM Plant Honda head into the weekend with the benefit of having raced around the Arena circuit earlier this year as part of a World Superbike wild-card outing, something Kiyonari is certain will aid his chances.

"I feel that there is less pressure on me now compared to before Croft as we have nothing to lose, but I want to win the races at Silverstone. We raced the new track at the World Superbike Championship round and now I know the circuit and we have made some big improvements with the bike since then, so we should be fast.

"I am just going to try my hardest and push as hard as I can to win. I am not happy unless I am first and after Croft we need to fight for victories as I want to win the championship."

Of the two riders, it was Brookes that emerged from the WSBK event with the best results, while a victory on a Superstock Honda during the MotoGP support event gives him further reason to be confident.

"I have put the Croft weekend behind me now and all I am thinking about is Silverstone. If you look back to Brands Hatch we had a bad weekend there and then we bounced back with a good weekend at Cadwell Park with a win and a second place so Silverstone will be the round to recover what we lost at the last one.

"We have the information and the knowledge from when we raced at the World Superbike Championship round there so we will have to wait and see how we can use that to our advantage. I know in my mind that I want to win and put the team back at the front."