Superbike World Championship
In 2008 Ryuichi Kiyonari made his Superbike World Championship debut, having reached an agreement with the reigning champion team 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. His 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, 2 weeks prior to the event, meaning he missed the race.
For 2009, Kiyo stayed with the Ten Kate Honda team, partnering Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea. His bike was backed by Honda Europe rather than Hannspree. After a somewhat unsuccessful season, he finished 11th in the championship standings.
Read more about this topic: Ryuichi Kiyonari
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