Triple champion Ryuichi Kiyonari is determined to recapture his previous best form when the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship kicks off at Brands Hatch this Easter (18-21 April) after his switch to the Buildbase BMW team.

Kiyonari is second only to Shane Byrne in the all time list of MCE BSB race winners and after a switch to the Buildbase BMW team the Japanese rider believes the team have huge potential to finally secure their first podium finish for the German manufacturer. Kiyonari had ended the Snetterton test ninth on the timesheets after a crash ruled him out of the final stages of the day, but upbeat about their chances of success at Brands Hatch.

Kiyonari said:

"I am looking forward to Brands Hatch and finally racing the BMW for the first time as we are happy after the tests. At Donington they were the first laps really after just a small amount of laps at Mallory Park to begin with and for me I was surprised with the BMW straight away. Before the tests I was thinking a lot about how different it would be compared to the Honda and how it would feel and was even nervous but I am happy that I have been able to get some good confidence already and feel like I can still go faster.

"Snetterton was going well for me and then I had a stupid crash and I felt bad for the team because we had done a lot of good work there with suspension and the chassis so I am disappointed that I couldn't try and improve my time at the end of the test. I am excited about Brands Hatch because it is possible to make big improvements with the bike and this is positive for the first round, especially because of the Indy circuit. Everything is feeling good and I think this will be a better year for me."


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