Kiyonari, Rea win Suzuka 300km.

Reigning British Superbike champion Ryuichi Kiyonari and Team HRC team-mate Jonathan Rea took victory in the Suzuka 300km race at the fast Japanese circuit on Sunday as the Anglo-Japanese duo laid solid foundations for their assault on the prestigious Suzuka 8 hours - to be held at the circuit on Sunday July 29.

The HM Plant Honda BSB team-mates beat Yoshiteru Konishi of Team HARC-PRO. by 48.861secs, with YSP&PRESTO Racing Yamaha's Katsuyuki Nakasuga third in the rain interrupted event.

"From the start, I was aiming to build a big lead over the rider in second place, but raising the pace was difficult early on in the race," said Kiyonari. "We had a lot of tests in advance and the combination with the tyres had improved, so I was confident of a good run if the weather was fine. I was passed by Akiyoshi and it started running midway, so it was a difficult race, but I was able to effectively run on even wet surfaces to increase the pace.

"This is my second consecutive victory at Suzuka 300km, but being able to team up today with Jonathan Rea, my team-mate in BSB, in particular, we had managed to achieve good results from the test stage. We both could run at similar paces today, and I feel really thankful to Jonathan for the result. Our victory today is thanks to all of the fans cheering us on and every member on the team, added the Japanese.

"This was my first endurance race and my first race at Suzuka Circuit, so I was really tense before the race," admitted Rea, who will make his MotoGP debut at Donington Park later this month. "With a lot of corners, the course was twice as long as the courses in Britain I usually race on, and it was a very difficult course, but I was able to ride with a good rhythm and really enjoyed the race. With the rain, the conditions were also very difficult. I couldn't tell how the situation with the rain would be, so I was thinking of perhaps entering the pit if the rain continued to become heavier.

"Fortunately, the rain cleared up after that, and I was able to run at a good pace and win the race. For our win today, I am really grateful to the manager, the whole team and Kiyonari. My stay in Japan this time turned out to be a really good experience for me. I will leave for the UK [on Monday], but I want to pair up with Kiyonari again in the Suzuka 8hrs."