JOHN REYNOLDS already has a mountain to climb if he is to retain the British Superbike Championship for the Christchurch-based Rizla Crescent Suzuki team.

As Japan's Ryuichi Kiyonari stormed to his second double of the season for the HM Plant Honda team in front of a 20,000 Thruxton crowd yesterday, all the injury-stricken Reynolds could manage was 14th place.

A fortnight ago, and just six weeks after breaking his leg in six places in an accident testing the new Suzuki, the veteran Reynolds managed two top ten finishes in Brands Hatch.

But the fast, bumpy Thruxton circuit took its toll on the rider who has had a special cast built to protect his injured leg.

It was so excruciating that even the bravest, toughest rider in Superbikes had to call it quits ... pulling in to retire when he was lying last in the second of the Bennett's Superbike races.

Suzuki may be dominating the World Superbike Championship, but they are being blitzed by Honda in their domestic series.

Kiyonari, who won both Brands Hatch races with ease, was again unstoppable. His Honda team-mate Michael Rutter pushed him briefly in the first of the Thruxton races but when the young Japanese rider put the hammer down, he left Rutter trailing in his wake.

Second time out he was given a far stiffer examination by Airways Ducati super sub Gregorio Lavillia, who pushed him all the way to the chequered flag with Rutter third.

The Spaniard was again standing in for the injured James Hayden.

A bleak day for Rizla Suzuki was completed when Reynolds' new team-mate Scott Smart blew the engine early in the second race.

Earlier Smart finished seventh and has yet to make a serious impression since his winter switch from the Hawk Kawasaki team.

There was some local cheer, though, in the shape of 17-year-old New Milton rider Pete Spalding, who took second place in the Supersport Cup, part of the British Supersport Chamionship event.

Spalding, only in his second season of road racing, lost out narrowly to Craig Sproston after the race was red flagged with four laps to go. Winchester's James Hillier was seventh.

Southampton's John Crockford, enjoying a one-off ride on Totton dealer Bernie Leigh's Honda, was going well in 12th place in the Supersport race when the engine gave out less than halfway through the race, won by Padgett Honda rider Leon Camier.

Another Winchester rider, James Hurrell, finished third for the second race running in the National Superstock Cup.