Alstare Suzuki's
Yukio Kagayama left
Brands Hatch with a solitary fourth place to show for his efforts, after being clipped by wild-card Tom Sykes on the opening lap of race two.
The contact between the former and present Rizla Suzuki BSB riders caused Kagayama to spear straight on into the gravel, where he fell. Kagayama rejoined in last place but rode on to the finish out of respect for the British fans that have shown him so much support since his BSB days. He crossed the finish line in 25th place.
"I am very disappointed with how today worked out because I really felt that I could make two very good results," said Yuki. "I had problems entering the turns in race one and the bike was chattering a bit at the rear end. It was bad in some corners and not so bad in others but I adjusted my riding style and tried to work my way round the problem. I lost some positions, but my lap times were pretty consistent and I was pleased to get fourth.
"In race two, I got hit by Tom Sykes on lap one going into Druids," he confirmed. "His bike caught my brake lever and that locked up the front end and I was forced to go straight into the gravel - where I crashed!
"It took a few moments to get the bike upright again and then I got back on it and rejoined the race. I was last by a very long way, but I decided to keep going and finish the race even though I had no chance of any points. I did this because I have many fans in Britain and I did not want to disappoint them," he declared.
