JR back in business BRITISH SUPERBIKE Champion John Reynolds is back in business after ending his injury enforced month-long break from riding when he piloted his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 at the official MCRCB test at Croft today. Reynolds finished sixth in unofficial timing with a 1:27.72 lap time. The wet weather meant that was over six seconds outside his own lap record for the 2.12-mile long North Yorkshire track, but he was less than half a second down on today’s quickest time – a 1:27.33 from Ducati’s Leon Haslam. “Today went really well and I am fully comfortable and confident with my Rizla Suzuki – it’s back to business as normal,” enthused JR, who has been undergoing intensive physiotherapy for his broken right leg since he last rode at Mallory Park on April 24th. “I didn’t record the fastest lap of the day, but was only a couple of tenths away and that gives me big encouragement. “The first session was fully wet and I was fourth quickest. Then in the second session there was only a window of 10-minutes when it was drying out before it rained again – there were still wet patches everywhere and no real chance of running at full dry pace. I got a good feel for my Rizla Suzuki and have asked my crew for a few minor changes to test when we return here to race in a couple of weeks. “I am totally positive and it was great to get stuck back into riding again. I am the happiest man in the world at the minute – I’m back racing and ready to fly the flag for Rizla Suzuki.” Rizla Suzuki racer Scott Smart ended up 15th with a 1:31.51 lap time after missing the driest 10-minutes of the day while working on his suspension settings. Scott said: “The wet session was useful for us as we learnt that our best dry settings do not convert to riding in the rain. We now have an idea how to fix that for the wet and that alone has made today worthwhile. “At the start of the second session I was much faster and in the top six until I came in to make some suspension changes. I missed the driest window of opportunity on track and it rained before I got back out of the garage – ending my chance of posting a quick time. “Everyone was behind race pace today because of the wet conditions, but I still found it useful to get laps under my belt and reacquaint myself with the circuit. I’m looking forward to coming back here to race.” Rizla Suzuki returns to Croft on June 5th for the sixth round of the British Superbike Championship.