Ryuichi Kiyonari fired his Bennetts Suzuki to the top of the times in the opening official test session at Silverstone on Tuesday morning as the three-time MCE British Superbike champion got straight back on the pace at the Northamptonshire circuit.

Shane 'Shakey' Byrne had moved fastest earlier in the session but Kiyonari was soon back at the top, pushing the Be Wiser Ducati rider back to second place. The four-time champion then was nudged back to third in the closing stages when Jakub Smrz moved up the order to end the session in second place for the Smiths Racing BMW team.

Christian Iddon was fourth fastest on the Tyco BMW whilst his team-mate Michael Laverty sat out on the opening session. Leon Haslam was the fastest of the JG Speedfit Kawasaki riders in fifth place pushing Honda Racing's Dan Linfoot to sixth.

Luke Mossey had a strong start to the session in seventh place to split the Honda Racing team-mates as Jason O'Halloran set the eighth fastest time. The American pairing of John Hopkins and rookie James Rispoli completed the top ten.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Silverstone, official test:

Ryuichi Kiyonari (Bennetts Suzuki) 2m:09.211s
Jakub Smrz (Smiths Racing BMW) +0.366s
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +1.035s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +1.116s
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +1.150s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +1.368s
Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +1.629s
Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) +1.289s
John Hopkins (ePayMe Yamaha) +1.689s
James Rispoli (Anvil Hire TAG Racing Yamaha) 2.019s