Ryuichi Kiyonari

is a Japanese retired Grand Prix motorcycle racer.

Kiyonari previously rode a Honda CBR1000RR in the MFJ All-Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship. He was the 2006, 2007 and 2010 British Superbike champion and enjoys fame and popularity amongst British motorcycle race fans due to his success and personality. He raced for Honda Asia in 2012.

Kiyonari won the 2008 Suzuka 8-Hour race, teamed with his former WSBK teammate Carlos Checa.

Early years Kiyonari first raced in 1988 in motocross, which he later stated that he did not especially enjoy. He began circuit racing in 1996, and first raced in the All-Japan 125cc Championship in 1998. He continued in this class until 1999 and spent the 2000 and 2001 season in the All-Japan 250cc Championship, with a shortage of big results, other than 9th place in the 2000 Suzuka 8 Hours race.

In 2002, Kiyonari switched to the All-Japan ST600 championship, which he won with four victories. He also took an All-Japan Superbike Championship victory at TI Aida.

MotoGP Throughout 2002 and 2003, Kiyonari was employed by the Honda Racing Corporation as their official test rider. Main rider Daijiro Kato was killed in the 2003 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix, meaning Gresini Racing would need a second rider. Kiyonari received a telephone call from team principal Fausto Gresini to move to MotoGP started from 2003 French motorcycle Grand Prix until the remainder of the season. There were eight minor points finishes, leaving him 20th overall with a best of 11th.

British Superbike Championship

After coming 6th overall in the British Superbike Championship in 2004, Kiyonari won the first four races of 2005, before injuring his ankle in a heavy crash in round 5. He was back for round 9, and retook the championship lead from teammate Michael Rutter, but eventually was overhauled by the improving Ducati of Lavilla and he finished the season runner up. Kiyonari also raced in the Valencia Grand Prix for Sito Pons' Camel Honda team, finishing in the points.

In 2006, a double victory at Silverstone in the penultimate round kept Kiyonari in close contention for the title. However, in the double point final round at Brands Hatch, after a win in race one (he was leading when Shane Byrne's heavy crash caused a stoppage. Kiyonari only needed to finish third in the final race. Kiyonari finished 2nd in the shortened race behind Haslam, thus winning the championship by eight points.thumb

The 2007 season started at Brands Hatch, with Jonathan Rea and Leon Camier performing better on their Hondas. However, Kiyonari took a double win in round three, and a further win in race 2 at Oulton Park, to lie second to Lavilla after four rounds. Finally, Kiyonari defended his British champion at Brands Hatch to win the championship for the second time in succession.

Superbike World Championship In , Kiyonari made his Superbike World Championship debut, having reached an agreement with Ten Kate Honda, to partner Carlos Checa and Kenan Sofuoğlu.

In the second race at Monza, Kiyonari nearly had his first SBK win. Kiyonari was in front as they braked for the final entry into the Parabolica but went wide on the exit and Noriyuki Haga and Max Neukirchner edged him out - Haga for the win and Neukirchner claiming second by a gap of just .009. Kiyonari finished third with a gap of .051, his first Superbike podium.

Kiyonari's first two wins came at Brands Hatch, beating Troy Bayliss in race 1 and Noriyuki Haga in race 2. He briefly led the very next race at Donington Park, but fell on lap 2. However, he did win the second race in very wet conditions, visibly sliding the rear end of his bike on many occasions. Kiyonari broke his collarbone in a testing crash at Magny Cours, two weeks prior to the event, missing the race.

For 2009, Kiyonari stayed with the Ten Kate Honda team, partnering Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea. His bike was backed by Honda Europe rather than Hannspree. He finished 11th in the championship standings.

Return to British Superbikes In September 2009, Kiyonari returned to British Superbikes to make a wildcard appearance at Croft Circuit, replacing the injured Glen Richards. He finished fourth in race one before finishing race two in 18th position.

In December 2009, Kiyonari was confirmed as one of HM Plant Honda's riders for the 2010 British Superbike Championship season, partnering Australian rider Josh Brookes. At Cadwell Park, he won race one but retired from race two before it began, due to a technical problem on the warm-up lap. He scored a double win at Mallory Park, lifting him to fourth overall in the standings. 2011 saw Kiyonari stay with HM Plant Honda in the British Superbike Championship, alongside two time BSB Champion Shane Byrne. He finished sixth overall.

FIM Asia Road Racing Championship For the 2012 season, Kiyonari headed to Asia, leading Malaysian team Boon Siew Honda Malaysia Racing as they aspire to lift the FIM Asian SuperSports 600cc trophy. He went on to win the 2012 Asia Road Racing Championship title.

Return again to the British Superbike Championship

In 2013 Kiyonari returned to the BSB, racing with Samsung Honda. He finished 6th overall.

In December 2013, Speed of Japan announced that Kiyonari would be racing with Buildbase BMW in the BSB in 2014. . Kiyonari's move to BMW was his first ever race with a manufacturer other than Honda, followed in 2016 by a switch to Suzuki.

FIM World Endurance Championship Suzuka 8 Hours Kiyonari has four wins at the Suzuka 8 Hours, in 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012. He is the rider with most wins that is currently still active.

Career statistics 1998- 26th, All Japan Road Race GP125 Championship #90 Honda RS125R 1999- 23rd, All Japan Road Race GP125 Championship #26 Honda RS125R 2000- 20th, All Japan Road Race GP250 Championship #111 Honda RS250R 2001- 16th, All Japan Road Race GP250 Championship #100 Honda RS250R 2002- 1st, All Japan Road Race ST600 Championship #54 Honda CBR600RR 2003- 20th, MotoGP #23 Honda RC211V 2004- 6th, British Superbike Championship #23 Honda CBR1000RR 2005- 2nd, British Superbike Championship #6 Honda CBR1000RR 2006- 1st, British Superbike Championship #2 Honda CBR1000RR 2007- 1st, British Superbike Championship #1 Honda CBR1000RR 2008- 9th, Superbike World Championship #23 Honda CBR1000RR 2009- 11th, Superbike World Championship #9 Honda CBR1000RR 2010- 1st, British Superbike Championship #8 Honda CBR1000RR 2011- 6th, British Superbike Championship #1 Honda CBR1000RR 2012- 1st, Asia Road Race SS600 Championship #23 Honda CBR600RR 2013- 6th, British Superbike Championship #23 Honda CBR1000RR 2014- 2nd, British Superbike Championship #23 BMW S1000RR 2015- 20th, British Superbike Championship #23 BMW S1000RR 2016- 20th, British Superbike Championship #23 Suzuki GSX-R1000/BMW S1000RR 2017- 11th, All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship #88 Honda CBR1000RR 2018- All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship #23 Honda CBR1000RR

Supersport World Championship Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts 2003 Honda SPA AUS JPN2 ITA GER GBR SMR GBR NED ITA FRA 21st 20

Grand Prix motorcycle racing By season SeasonClassMotoTeamRaceWinPodPoleFLapPtsPlcdWCh 2003 MotoGP RC211V Telefónica Gresini Honda 13 0 0 0 0 22 20th – Total 13 0 0 0 0 0 0

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pts 2003 MotoGP Honda JPN RSA SPA FRA13 ITA13 CAT11 NED17 GBR14 GER18 CZE15 POR16 BRA15 PAC11 MAL21 AUS19 VAL14 20th 22 2005 MotoGP Honda SPA POR CHN FRA ITA CAT NED USA GBR GER CZE JPN MAL QAT AUS TUR VAL12 25th 4

Suzuka 8 Hours results

Superbike World Championship Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 2008 Honda QAT22 QAT19 AUS9 AUS6 SPARet SPA4 NED7 NEDRet ITA6 ITA3 USA10 USA7 GER12 GER11 SMR14 SMR13 CZE5 CZE6 GBR1 GBR1 EURRet EUR1 ITARet ITA13 FRA FRA POR8 POR11 9th 206 2009 Honda AUSRet AUS23 QAT8 QAT4 SPA12 SPA9 NED15 NEDRet ITA3 ITA3 RSA12 RSA13 USA4 USA5 SMRRet SMR14 GBR10 GBR7 CZE13 CZE13 GER14 GER7 ITA5 ITA17 FRARet FRADNS PORDNS PORDNS 11th 141 2010 Honda AUS AUS POR POR SPA SPA NED NED ITA ITA RSA RSA USA USA SMR SMR CZE CZE GBR21 GBR16 GER GER ITA ITA FRA FRA NC 0

British Superbike Championship (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 2004 Honda SIL2 SIL2 BHI6 BHI6 SNE7 SNE9 OULWD OULWD MON MON THR13 THR8 BHGP18 BHGP20 KNO10 KNO14 MAL4 MAL3 CRO4 CRO4 CAD2 CAD16 OUL12 OUL6 DON1 DON1 6th 234 2005 Honda BHI1 BHI1 THR1 THR1 MALRet MALDNS OUL OUL MOP1 MOP3 CRO1 CRO3 KNO1 KNO1 SNE1 SNERet SIL8 SIL1 CAD5 CAD3 OUL1 OUL1 DON2 DON3 BHGP4 BHGP4 2nd 429 Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 2006 Honda BHI4 BHI1 DON2 DONRet THR3 THR4 OUL6 OUL5 MOPC MOPC MAL1 MAL3 SNE1 SNE1 KNO1 KNORet OUL1 OUL1 CRO1 CRO5 CAD3 CADRet SIL1 SIL1 BHGP1 BHGP2 1st 466 2007 Honda BHGP8 BHGP11 THR3 THR2 SIL1 SIL1 OUL3 OUL1 SNE1 SNE1 MON5 MON5 KNO2 KNO3 OUL1 OULRet MALRet MAL1 CRO1 CRO1 CAD2 CAD2 DONRet DON3 BHI3 BHI4 1st 433 2009 Honda BHI BHI OUL OUL DON DON THR THR SNE SNE KNO KNO MAL MAL BHGP BHGP BHGP CAD CAD CRO4 CRO18 SIL SIL OUL OUL OUL 29th 13 Honda BHI2 BHIRet THR9 THR4 OULRet OUL4 CAD1 CADDNS MAL1 MAL1 KNO2 KNOC SNE2 SNERet SNE1 BHGP3 BHGP2 BHGP2 CAD3 CAD3 CRO11 CRO4 SIL5 SIL2 OUL1 OUL1 OUL1 1st 649 2011 Honda BHI BHI OUL OUL CRO CRO THR THR KNO KNO SNE SNE OUL OUL BHGP BHGP BHGP CAD CAD CAD DON DON SIL SIL BHGP BHGP BHGP 6th 526 2013 Honda BHI8 BHI4 THR17 THRRet OUL14 OUL12 KNO3 KNO3 SNE5 SNE4 BHGP3 BHGP5 OUL6 OUL3 OUL10 CAD7 CAD5 DON13 DON11 ASS14 ASS3 SIL SIL BHGP BHGP BHGP 6th 522 2014 BMW BHI16 BHI4 OULRet OULRet SNE5 SNE4 KNO1 KNO2 BHGP1 BHGPRet THR3 THR3 OUL1 OUL1 OUL4 CADRet CADRet DON1 DON1 ASS2 ASS2 SIL2 SIL1 BHGPWD BHGPWD BHGPWD 2nd 620 Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 2015 BMW DON14 DONRet BHI4 BHI4 OUL5 OULRet SNE21 SNERet KNORet KNO4 BHGP16 BHGP18 THR17 THR17 CAD14 CADRet OUL15 OUL12 OUL9 ASS ASS SILRet SIL16 BHGP BHGP BHGP 20th 66 Suzuki & BMW SIL SIL OUL OUL BHI BHI KNO KNO SNE SNE THR THR BHGP BHGP CAD CAD OUL OUL OUL DON DON ASS ASS BHGP BHGP BHGP 20th 42 Honda DON DON BHI BHI OUL OUL SNE SNE KNO KNO BHGP BHGP THR THR CAD CAD SIL SIL SIL OUL OUL ASS ASS BHGP BHGP BHGP 29th 5