Kiyonari on form at Oulton finale
Added on Saturday, October 9th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Kiyonari on form at Oulton finale
Ryuichi Kiyonari scored his fifth win of the season at Oulton Park this afternoon, to strengthen his championship charge ahead of tomorrow’s final two races.
James Ellison made the strongest start as the lights went out today for the first race in the final round, as championship leader Tommy Hill slotted into second. The chase started straight away, with the main title contenders getting in the thick of the action.
After running in fourth position in the opening stages, eventual winner Kiyonari battled is way up the order, disposing of those in his path. Once the HM Plant Honda rider was in the lead, Ellison and Hill were demoted to second and third, temporarily, until Hill decided he wasn’t prepared to settle for a third place finish.
Before too long, Hill followed Kiyonari passed Ellison for second, leaving the top two in the championship standings fighting it out for the top two positions in the race. However, unable to make too much of an impression on the leader, Hill was forced to cross the line just 0.8 seconds adrift of Kiyonari, leaving them just ten points apart at the top of the championship table.
Ellison held onto the final podium spot, with Michael Laverty fourth and Josh Brookes fifth. Tommy Bridewell had a strong sixth place finish, just ahead of Stuart Easton, Gary Mason and John Laverty, whilst Loris Baz rounded out the top ten.
Looking back over his victory, Kiyonari told the official BSB website: “I tried to get a bigger gap as I would have been happier then, but it wasn’t easy and the other riders were fast too. It was a hard race and I had to fight hard for the win for sure. It is great to get the points on Tommy and move second but we still have tomorrow. It is not easy to win but if I can have two more tomorrow then I can be champion. The two races tomorrow will probably be the toughest races of the season.”
Oulton is now set to host the final two races of the 2010 season, with the champion ready to be crowned. The question is who will be wearing the crown.
