Kiyonari bins it then wins it.

Ryuichi Kiyonari repaid his Ten Kate Honda team in the best way possible by storming to victory in the second World Superbike race of the weekend at Donington Park.

The Japanese rider had a point to prove when he threw away an early lead in the first race after losing the back-end of his bike around the Old Hairpin.

Kiyonari, European WSBK Race 2 2008
Kiyonari, European WSBK Race 2 2008
© Gold and Goose

Ryuichi Kiyonari repaid his Ten Kate Honda team in the best way possible by storming to victory in the second World Superbike race of the weekend at Donington Park.

The Japanese rider had a point to prove when he threw away an early lead in the first race after losing the back-end of his bike around the Old Hairpin.

However, his cause would be made harder by the terrible weather that descended on the Leicestershire circuit once again moments before the start of the second race.

Nonetheless, having already shown his wet weather prowess this weekend with a series of spectacular looking slides throughout practice and qualifying, Kiyonari quickly assumed the lead from second on the grid at the start and simply held sway all the way to the chequered flag.

His third win in four races, Kiyonari claims only victory would have made amends for his race one faux pas, a mistake he blamed on getting 'too excited' about his unusually good start.

"I was so disappointed to crash in race one," he said. "I got an incredible start, which is unusual for me and maybe I was a little too excited. I was so sorry for my team who worked so hard to give me a good bike for dry conditions, even though we had no dry practice.

"For the second race, I was actually quite pleased it rained, because we knew the bike was good in the wet. But the conditions were unbelievable in the early part of the race.

Still, Kiyonari admits the latter stages of the race were a tough one for him as his Pirelli tyres began to fade.

"I had very little control and, by the time the track started to improve, my tyres were finished, so I still had very little control. It was a little scary at times, but I'm very happy to repay the team with another win."

Read More