BSB: First qualifying

Ryuichi Kiyonari has taken the top spot in the first qualifying session for the opening round of the British Superbike championship at Brands Hatch.

The session proved it is going to be an interesting championship this year with five different manufacturers and teams represented in the top five qualifiers.

Kiyonari topped the session on his HM Plant Honda with a best lap of 45.827. He was closely followed by Leon Haslam on a GSE Ducati, one of only two Ducatis in the field.

Defending champion John Reynolds managed to improve his slow times yesterday despite still having to use crutches to walk after a testing crash earlier this year.

His injuries didn’t stop him qualifying ahead of the likes of Steve Plater, Jeremy McWilliams and John McGuinness.

The second qualifying session will take place later today and we’ll bring you full updates as they come in.

Check out MCN this Wednesday for a full behind the scenes analysis of the first round of the season.

Official times:

1 Ryuichi Kiyonari 45.827

2 Leon Haslam 46.003

3 Sean Emmett 46.010

4 Glen Richards 46.064

5 Karl Harris 46.115

6 Michael Rutter 46.125

7 Gregorio Lavilla 46.271

8 Scott Smart 46.282

9 Gary Mason 46.349

10 Tommy Hill 46.534

11 Dean Thomas 46.708

12 John Reynolds 46.759

13 Steve Plater 46.780

14 Jeremy McWilliams 46.814

15 John McGuinness 46.841

16 Jonathan Rea 46.977

17 Ben Wilson 47.095

18 James Buckingham 47.099

19 Kieran Clarke 47.155

20 John Laverty 47.261

21 Dennis Hobbs 47.328

22 Jon Kirkham 47.450

23 Chris Martin 47.513

24 Tristan Palmer 47.513

25 Marty Nutt 47.574

26 Danny Beaumont 47.603

27 Steve Brogan 47.605

28 Michael Laverty 47.813

29 Gareth Glynn 48.055

30 Richard Wren 48.288

31 Michael Pensavalle 48.515

32 Julien Da Costa 48.660

33 Malcolm Ashley 48.948

34 Nick Medd 49.033

35 Dean Ellison N/A