The Buildbase BMW Motorrad team are heading home from an action-packed and unpredictable Brands Hatch season opener with a fourth place, four top-ten finishes and having battled with the front runners, proof that the BMW S 1000 RR is a formidable package.
The first British Superbike race of the 2014 season proved to be dramatic and challenging as a number of crashes, near-misses and a red-flag and restart interrupted proceedings. Buildbase BMW Motorrad rider Ryuichi Kiyonari had qualified on the front row, but narrowly avoided an accident as his bike stalled as the race started.

Thankfully the riders behind managed to avoid the Japanese racer, who re-joined the field in last place. Team mate James Westmoreland, who had qualified on the second row, had a better start – however the race was red-flagged due to a huge spillage on lap 16. Some 40 minutes later, the track was declared safe after an extra six-minute sighting session and a short 12-lap sprint race got underway. Westmoreland finished in tenth position, with Kiyonari reaching 16th place after clawing back 12 places by the chequered flag. Kiyonari’s best lap time in race one secured him a spot on row two for the second BSB race, with Westmoreland on the fifth.

The second race was thankfully largely incident-free, with the Buildbase riders able to make good starts and push on up the field. Westmoreland fought his way up from 15th to finish seventh, pulling back eight places. Kiyonari battled with the front-runners from flag to flag, securing fourth place – and matching BMW Motorrad’s best BSB result so far.

Michael Dunlop, taking part in the first two rounds as part of his preparation to race the Isle of Man TT this summer, suffered a fall in a rain-lashed Qualifying session while running in second place and landed on his arm. The tough road racer completed race one, finishing 24th in his first-ever race at Brands Hatch, and set off in race two, but pulled in to the pits after a few laps deciding to rest his arm to be ready for Oulton Park in early May.

In the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 race, young rider Lee Jackson qualified in fourth place on the BMW HP4, going on to finish in sixth place in a colourful and incident-heavy race, which saw two riders crash out and engage in a small scuffle in the gravel trap before being stopped by the race marshals. Jackson’s top-six pace throughout qualifying continued into the race, with the team pleased by the results and targeting more silverware to add to the collection.


Ryuichi Kiyonari said:

“I have a very good feeling now, because we’ve had really promising results in the wet and dry and I’ve been in the top ten for every session. The second race today was really good, I was catching the lead riders. With a few more laps, I think I’d have had them. In practice we managed over 40 laps on one race tyre, so we have great life. In the first race, I have to say, sorry to all the other riders! I stalled the engine on the line, and I was very lucky not to get hit. It hasn’t happened before – but race two was much better!”

James Westmoreland said:

“The first race was very disappointing. I wasn’t happy to finish tenth, not so much the position but my pace – I just wasn’t fast enough. We’ve shown a lot of promise this weekend and it was frustrating. But – for the second race to come from 15th to seventh was really good, and the pace was very promising. We’re leaving here with a good weekend under our belts ready for Oulton Park.”

Stuart Hicken, Team Owner, said:

”Ending the day on a bonus was great. I was a bit low before that second race, because we’d shown so much promise and it didn’t happen in race one. But race two I really enjoyed; I enjoyed seeing James coming through the pack and I enjoyed Kiyo catching the front runners and giving them a run for their money. So, yes, happy for the day and really pleased with the pace of both Lee and Michael. Roll on Oulton Park.”

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