RAIN INTERRUPTS PLAY FOR RIZLA SUZUKI AT KNOCKHILL
03 July 2004 - Rizla-Suzuki

RIZLA SUZUKI riders Yukio Kagayama and John Reynolds spent most of today’s two free practice sessions for the eighth round of the THINK! British Superbike Championship safely under shelter as torrential rain and hailstones lashed the Scottish circuit.

Out of one-hour and forty minutes of track time, Yuki completed only 31-laps and JR just 23-laps as the weather closed in on the short but super-fast 1.2986mile Fife track. Both riders went out for long enough to find comfortable wet weather settings for Sunday’s races and then spent the rest of the sessions watching the water running across the track surface from the relatively dry pit garage.

Both Yuki and JR set their fastest lap times in the opening minutes of the damp morning session. Yuki was fifth and Championship leader JR sixth on the timesheets with Yamaha’s James Haydon fastest. The second session of the day was run with lots of standing water on track and times were much slower.

Joining the team this weekend is Scotland’s triple British Superbike Champion Niall Mackenzie, a favourite with fans as well as being the Rizla Suzuki team test rider. He also runs the Rizla Suzuki Search for a Scottish Star promotion at Knockhill to find the best and brightest upcoming racers north of the border. He will be joined by Scottish rally heroes Colin and Alistair McRae on Sunday to cheer on Rizla Suzuki.

Superbike racing starts at 1:15pm on Sunday July 4th at Knockhill in Scotland and will be shown live on Sky Sports. A highlights programme will be shown on BBC Grandstand one week later.

Yukio Kagayama:
“I remember the rain from racing here last year, but now also we have hailstones. This is unbelievable, this is July and middle of summer. This makes for difficult track conditions, as there is many standing water on the circuit.

“Today I ride very easy with maximum safety in mind as I no-need another crash after breaking my collarbone last month. If weather is wet Sunday then we have good setting, but I hope it is dry, this makes for more fun racing.”

John Reynolds:
“It was a shame that the weather interrupted play today. Saying that, the rain and hailstones were spectacular and it was something else to watch the water streaming across the circuit. It is difficult to ride in conditions like this and I opted for safety rather than go for an outright lap time, my collarbone is healing fast and I don’t need to injure it again with a silly accident in free practice.

“My Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 is good in wet or dry conditions. Whatever the weather on Sunday, I think we will be running close to the front and I fully intend to extend my Championship lead at one of my favourite venues.”

Practice times:
1: James Haydon (Yamaha) 52:470
2: Gary Mason (Yamaha) +0.456
3: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.556
4: John McGuinness (Kawasaki) +0.731
5: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) +1.271
6: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +1.274
7: Iain Macpherson (Ducati) +1.462
8: Dennis Hobbs (Suzuki) +1.751
9: Dean Thomas (Ducati) +1.959
10: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +2.398

www.rizla-suzuki.co.uk

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