First and second row starts for the Rizla Suzuki racers RIZLA SUZUKI’S John Reynolds will start from fourth on the front row and James Haydon from eighth on the second row in tomorrow’s seventh round of the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill in Scotland. A focused JR spent much of the qualifying sessions testing tyres for race distance and then put in a blisteringly quick lap time to ensure his first front row starting position of 2005. James used qualifying to fine tune the suspension on his Rizla Suzuki and test various Dunlop tyres. He was just one tenth of a second behind his team mate and secured a solid second row start in eighth, happy in the knowledge that he has a race set-up as quick as any rider on the track. Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari took pole position while the top 15 were separated by just one second at the short and twisty 1.3-mile long Scottish circuit. Superbike racing starts at 1:15pm on Sunday, June 26th, at Knockhill, near Edinburgh in Scotland. It will be shown on Sky Sports 3 at 18:30 on the same day. A highlights package will be broadcast by Channel 4 one week later. JR: “Thank you to my team for all their hard work and efforts in helping me on to the front row. It’s great to be back riding competitively. As I have said all season, there’s nothing at all wrong with the Rizla Suzuki, it’s a fantastic package and just needed me to ride it harder – something I can do now my leg is much better. “I’m looking for a good start tomorrow and to hang in with the leaders for the first five laps. If I can stay with them for those opening laps, then I’ll be there at the end for the reckoning. It’s all about riding aggressively and I’m going to be biting the screen and giving it my all.” James: “My team of technicians did a brilliant job today. We tested a lot of tyres and made minor adjustments to the front and rear suspension and kept up our forward momentum. On my last qualifying tyre I suffered a big slide and lost a bit of time but still managed a second row starting position. It’s important to get a good start here because I know I am able to post lap times on race tyres that are similar to the guys on the front row. It’s going to be fun.” Robert Wicks, Team Manager: “Well done to JR, James and the Rizla Suzuki team for putting in so much hard work and effort this weekend. Qualifying was incredibly tight but our guys fought their way on to the front two rows for our best team qualification of the season to date – well done to everyone in the team for pulling together. “JR’s front row is fantastic and he is riding more aggressively than at any other time this season. Listening to him after the sessions, he’s absolutely determined to get good results tomorrow and is speaking like the Champion we know he is. “James was within a whisker of JR and starting from the second row is a strong place to be. His lap times on race rubber match everyone on the front row and if he gets away with them he’ll be able to challenge. There is an air of expectation about the team and we are hungry for podiums – we are looking forward to tomorrow’s races.” Qualifying Times: 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 49.351, 2: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.148, 3: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.366, 4: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.384, 5: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +0.413, 6: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +0.421, 7: Michael Laverty (Honda) +0.506, 8: JAMES HAYDON (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.529, 9: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.543, 10: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +0.561.