RAIN INTERRUPTS PLAY AT DONINGTON PARK
17 September 2004 - Rizla-Suzuki

RIZLA SUZUKI''S John Reynolds and Yukio Kagayama were eager to get out and play in today''s practice sessions for the 13th and final round of the Think! British Superbike Championship at Donington Park but wet conditions cut their on-track time short.

Neither racer was keen on riding with rain and puddles making the surface treacherous at every turn. Resurfaced since the last time the Championship visited here one-year ago, the track is now unpredictable and slippery in the wet.

JR brought his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 home in 4th place on the time sheets after completing just eight laps. Yuki carefully tiptoed his way round for 15-laps to finish 6th. Both riders are happy with their wet set-ups but are hoping for better weather for qualifying tomorrow and the racing on Sunday.

Rizla Suzuki is hoping to clinch the British Superbike Championship title with JR this weekend as he leads the series by 43-points with just 50-points left to score. Yuki is 3rd in the overall standings and aims to retain that position to put two Rizla Suzuki''s on the Championship podium. Rizla Suzuki is already the newly crowned Think! British Superbike Manufacturers Champion with its awesome GSX-R1000.

Racing starts at 1:15pm on Sunday, 19th September, at Donington Park in Leicestershire. Sky Sports will show the racing live and BBC Grandstand will show a highlights package of all the action one week later.

JR:
''The new surface is very slippery in the wet and it is also inconsistent. Pick any corner and as you go through it the bike will grip, slide, grip and then slide again - it is very difficult to gauge the level of grip available.

''With that in mind, I didn''t fancy pushing myself today and took it easy for a few laps before calling it quits. My Rizla Suzuki feels good and there isn''t much to do to improve our wet set-up, we will be competitive if we have to race in these conditions. I do hope it is dry tomorrow and Sunday though. As for the Championship race, I won''t even start thinking about that until Sunday evening.honest!''

Yuki:
''This circuit surface is much different from last time I race here for Suzuki on MotoGP bike. I think in dry conditions this is much faster, but in wet, very, very slippery.

''I prefer dry conditions for qualifying and race and hope this is case for rest of weekend. My family comes to watch from Japan and I do not want them to think it only ever rains in UK. That is what they see on television at home in Japan, but I hope we prove it wrong, nice sunshine is better.''

Practice times:
1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 1:44.591, 2: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.970, 3: Dean Thomas (Ducati) +2.385, 4: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +2.756, 5: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +2.862, 6: YUKIO KAGAYMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) +3.175, 7: Jon Kirkham (Suzuki) +4.155, 8: Kieran Clarke (Yamaha) +4.380, 9: John McGuinness (Kawasaki) +4.633, 10: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +4.677.

www.rizla-suzuki.co.uk

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