Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) took his first and second World Superbike race wins at Round 10's Brands Hatch - Great Britain Monday morning after two thrilling contests, the first with championship leader Troy Bayliss and Max Biaggi, then the second with his countryman Noriyuki Haga.

The Honda star had won the Suzuka 8 Hour only a week before and then took his Brands Hatch experience, scene of his multiple British Superbike victories, to his first World Superbike double.

He had secured a front row start of third after a wet Superpole contest on Saturday and put his years of BSB knowledge to good use on this circuit, making wise tyre choices and finding a good race set-up early in the weekend.

Kiyonari stalked Bayliss for 21 laps before he seized the initiative in a shower delayed Race 1. The top three were covered by only 0.180 seconds.

After a better start in race two, Kiyonari secured a margin of victory of 1.8 seconds, pushing on in the final laps to break Haga's intense pressure. Baylis had made a wrong tyre choice and struggled to eleventh in spot in front of Biaggi who was coming back from an early fall.

Kiyonari's wins take him to eighth in the championship overall, with a total of 165 points.

The top placed Honda rider in the series is still Kiyonari's fellow Suzuka 8-Hour race winning partner, Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) who was eleventh in qualifying, but sixth and then eighth in the two Brands Hatch races, run over 25-laps each. Checa is fourth in the championship, on 233 points to leader Troy Bayliss' 334.

Kiyonari said:

"I'm so happy, I cannot really believe it. We have been near the top of the leader board in all the sessions this weekend so we knew that we had a good race set up. The team worked hard to give me a great bike for both races and finally we have a win - no, two wins! - to celebrate. It wasn't easy. I found it difficult to pass and I made a couple of mistakes. In race one, I was very nervous for the last few laps but in race two I was able to keep a good pace right to the end."

Checa said:

"I cannot say that I am happy with the results but I have to be satisfied after the problems we have had this weekend. Of course, Brands Hatch was a new circuit for me to learn and we found it difficult to find a good setting for the bike. I had a problem with the left-hander going onto the back of the circuit and this is a corner you must get right to carry speed for the rest of the lap."

The World Superbike Championship reconvenes at Donington Park, on September 7th, after the traditional summer break. Kiyonari is well placed to do well at Donnington, as he has been a winner there too in 2006 and 2007 on the HM Plant Honda Fireblades. The Ten Kate team hope to put some of his experience to good use in the set up of both his and Checa's bikes at Donnington as it's now clear they have the equipment in the new 08 Fireblade to win, given a good set up plan.

WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP

In an aggregate WSS race Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) took his second victory in a row while Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) scored a podium finish in third, to take a 32-point championship lead into the summer break. Rea had been on the front row after qualifying, behind Honda privateer Matthieu Lagrive, but Pitt had to work his way up to his podium place in the early laps, having only qualified 9th in a session interrupted by rain.

The race was run in two parts today, with rain stopping the first race after eight laps, but the restart was also halted early when Honda rider Craig Jones (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) fell from his machine at the fast Cark Curve, while in second place, appearing to be struck by a closely following rider. With Jones prostrate on the track the red flags came out to stop the race. The result was therefore called after 15 aggregated laps, with Rea taking first place, Jones credited with second due to the results being taken from one lap before the red flag's appearance, and Pitt finished third.

Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR)