From a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

REYNOLDS WINS SUPERBIKE TITLE!
Team Suzuki Press Office – September 19, 2004.

Rizla Suzuki’s John Reynolds has won the 2004 Think! British Superbike Championship at today’s final round at Donington Park and team-mate Yukio Kagayama raced to third overall in a season that has seen the team take 25 rostrum finishes from 26 starts.

Just a week after the duo clinched the British Superbike Manufacturers title for Suzuki, Reynolds took third place in the first race to secure his third British Superbike Championship, while Kagayama scraped home in 14th after a dramatic off-track excursion at Craner Curves that left him with it all to do in the second race to keep a hold on his season rostrum position.

The Japanese ace was up to the task in the second race, finishing fourth and taking third overall. Reynolds finished fifth after riding defensively to help his team mate and take the title by 29 points from Michael Rutter.

John Reynolds – British Superbike Champion:

“What a fantastic day. Thank you to Rizla Suzuki for supplying the best bike and team this season and well done to Yukio for getting on the Championship podium in third.

“It’s hard to put my feelings into words right now. I think after I have a few beers it will be a lot easier – I plan to do a serious amount of celebrating this evening! The last word for the 2004 season goes to my fans – thank you, this number one plate is dedicated to you all for your support and belief in me and Rizla Suzuki.”

Yukio Kagayama – British Superbike Number 3:

“Congratulations to John-san for winning the Championship. This is a title he deserves and Rizla Suzuki deserves. I am happy to finish third overall. This is an almost unbelievable result when I remember my injuries at start of season.

“I am a Factory Suzuki rider and I honestly say Crescent Rizla Suzuki is a brilliant team to ride for. This is big honour for me to be rider for this team and a big honour to ride in front of British fans. Thank you!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“The champagne has never tasted so good. This is the climax of a season of extremely hard work and determination and is no less than ‘JR’, ‘Yuki’, every single team member and every single fan of Rizla Suzuki deserves. Saying that, I need to single out the whole Rizla Suzuki technical crew – we have a team of skilled, dedicated people who deserve nothing less than to be champions.

“Thanks to all our sponsors and partners for their support through thick and thin; there is no doubt we couldn’t have achieved this success without you. It’s time to taste some more of that champagne this evening before getting back to work for next year. See you all again in 2005!”

Don’t miss the Rizla Suzuki team at the Castle Combe Grand National next weekend on September 25-26 when Superbike privateer and upcoming British talent, Jon Kirkham, along with Bike Magazine journalist Adam Hitchcock will be racing the awesome Championship-winning GSX-R1000. Reynolds and Kagayama will both be on-hand to lend their support at the race meeting.

Race One Result: 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 32:05.596, 2: Michael Rutter (Honda) +10.981, 3: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +12.559, 4: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +15.169, 5: Sean Emmett (Ducati) +16.223, 6: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +20.760, 7: Dean Thomas (Ducati) +27.223, 8: James Haydon (Yamaha) +33.589, 9: Gary Mason (Yamaha) +39.785, 10: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +39.873.

Race Two Result: 1: Kiyonari 30:57.801, 2: Rutter +11.862, 3: Emmett +23.062, 4: Smart +24.194, 5: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) +24.521, 6: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +26.271, 7: Thomas +27.184, 8: Haydon +33.864, 9: James Ellison (Yamaha) +34.186, 10: Steve Plater (Yamaha) +37.151.

Final Championship standings: 1: JOHN REY NOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) 446, 2: Rutter 417, 3: YUKIO KAGAYAMA (RIZLA SUZUKI) 335, 4: Smart 330, 5: Emmett 315, 6: Kiyonari 234, 7: Thomas 193, 8: Haydon 181, 9: Hill 137, 10: Richards 125.


More, from a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

DOUBLE PODIUM FOR MONSTERMOB AT DONINGTON PARK FINALE

Out-going British Superbike Champions MonsterMob Ducati ended the 2004 season in style when both Sean Emmett and Michael Laverty finished on the rostrum at DoningtonParktoday.

Superbike rider Sean Emmett followed up his fifth place finish in race one with his ninth rostrum of the season in third in race two as he maintained his end of season form.

As a result the 34 year old Londoner clinched fifth position in the Think! British Superbike Championship for the Paul Bird Motorsport team.

“It’s a good end to the year. It’s been a difficult season but I think everyone has learned from it and we’ve all been very professional. It’s so nice and fitting after all the hard work and problems we have had to end the year on the rostrum” said Emmett.

Also making it a day for celebration was Supersport rider Michael Laverty who claimed a superb second place after a titanic battle around the Leicestershire circuit.

The young Ulsterman made a daring last lap pass on a number of rivals to clinch runner up spot and in doing so consolidated his third place in the Championship.

“My arm pumped up mid race and I had to ease the pace a bit to try to get some feeling back. I couldn’t ride 100% but I managed to put a bit of a spurt on at the end. I’m not too disappointed considering the problems I had in the middle of the race but a win would have been nicer” said Laverty.

Team owner Paul Bird was happy with both his riders’ performances at the final meeting of the year.

“Our Crew Chief Phil Borley has kept his 100% reliability record once again. It’s been a good day. We were hoping for two rostrums from the Superbike but we’ll settle for one each. Both riders rode well. It’s a good end to the season for the team and the sponsors and we vow to bounce back next year” said Bird.

Superbike Race One Result

1, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 32m05.596s, 2, Michael Rutter (Honda) +10.981s, 3, John Reynolds (Suzuki) +12.559s, 4, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +15.169s, 5, Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati) +16.223s, 6, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +20.760s, 7, Dean Thomas (Ducati) +27.233s, 8, James Haydon (Yamaha) +33.589s, 9, Gary Mason (Yamaha) +39.785s, 10, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +39.873s.


Superbike Race Two Result

1, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 30m57.801s, 2, Michael Rutter (Honda) +11.862s, 3, Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati) +23.062s, 4, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +24.194s, 5, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) +24.521s, 6, John Reynolds (Suzuki) +26.271s, 7,
Dean Thomas (Ducati) +27.184s, 8, James Haydon (Yamaha) +33.864s, 9, James Ellison (Yamaha) +34.186s, 10, Steve Plater (Yamaha) +37.151s.


Supersport Race Result

1, Craig Jones (Triumph) 29m00.659s, 2, Michael Laverty (MonsterMob Ducati) +0.417s, 3, Tom Sykes (Suzuki) +0.797s, 4, Jay Vincent (Honda) +0.880s, 5, Pere Riba (Kawasaki) +1.094s, 6, Karl Harris (Honda) +2.731s, 7, Cal Crutchlow
(Honda) +8.577s, 8, Paul Young (Honda) +11.489s, 9, Luke Quigley (Suzuki) +16.350s, 10, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +18.433s.


THINK! British Superbike Championship Result

1, John Reynolds (Suzuki) 446 pts
2, Michael Rutter (Honda) 417 pts
3, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 335 pts
4, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 330 pts
5, Sean Emmett (MonsterMob Ducati) 315 pts
6, Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 234 pts
7, Dean Thomas (Ducati) 193 pts
8, James Haydon (Yamaha) 181 pts
9, Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 137 pts
10, Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 125 pts


British Supersport Championship Result

1, Karl Harris (Honda) 232 pts
2, Jay Vincent (Honda) 196 pts
3, Michael Laverty (MonsterMob Ducati) 178 pts
4, Pere Riba (Kawasaki) 128 pts
5, Tom Sykes (Suzuki) 123 pts
6, Luke Quigley (Suzuki) 102 pts
7, Leon Camier (Honda) 99 pts
8, Craig Jones (Triumph) 93 pts
9, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 89 pts
10, Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 75 pts