American Cameron Beaubier was eighth-quickest in Free Practice Two and ninth-fastest overall on Friday of the World Superbike weekend at Donington Park in the UK, where he was substituting for injured 2014 World Champion Sylvain Guintoli on the Pata Yamaha team.
Riding a factory Yamaha YZF-R1, defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Beaubier was 1.095-seconds off the fast time set by 2013 Superbike World Champion Tom Sykes on a Kawasaki ZX-10R.
American and 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden was 10th-quickest on his Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR SP, 1.257 seconds off Sykes’ fast time.
American PJ Jacobsen was fifth-quickest in World Supersport, riding his Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR to a lap at 1:31.336, just 0.254-second slower than the fast time set by UK star Geno Rea on an MV Agusta F3 675.
Superbike World Championship, Round 7
Donington Park, UK
Free Practice 2 Results (All On Pirelli Tires)
1. Tom Sykes, UK, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:27.927
2. Jonathan Rea, UK, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:27.996
3. Davide Giugliano, Italy, Duc Panigale R, 1:28.303
4. Alex Lowes, UK, Yam YZF-R1, 1:28.602
5. Leon Camier, UK, MV Agusta 1000 F4, 1:28.910
6. Lorenzo Salvadori, Italy, Aprilia RSV4 RF, 1:28.992
7. Jordi Torres, Spain, BMW S1000RR, 1:28.996
8. Cameron Beaubier, USA, Yam YZF-R1, 1:29.022
9. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic, BMW S1000RR, 1:29.068
10. Nicky Hayden, USA, Hon CBR1000RR SP, 1:29.184
Supersport World Championship, Round 7
Donington Park, UK
Free Practice 2 Results (All On Pirelli Tires)
1. Gino Rea, UK, MV Agusta F3 675, 1:31.082
2. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, Kaw ZX-6R, 1:31.119
3. Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkey, Kaw ZX-6R, 1:31.131
4. Luke Stapleford, UK, Triumph Daytona 675, 1:31.160
5. PJ Jacobsen, USA, Hon CBR600RR, 1:31.336
6. Ayrton Badovini, Italy, Hon CBR600RR, 1:31.584
7. Illia Mikhalchik, Ukraine, Kaw X-6R, 1:31.669
8. Kyle Smith, UK, Hon CBR600RR, 1:31.674
9. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, MV Agusta F3 675, 1:31.682
10. Ondrej Jezek, Czech Republic, Kaw ZX-6R, 1:31.801
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Sykes And Rea Go 1-2 After Strong Early Showing At Donington
Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea went 1-2 in the qualifing results after the first day of action in the WorldSBK Championship at Donington Park in the UK. Sykes was just 0.039 seconds ahead of his teammate Rea, with Rea over 0.3 seconds ahead of the next best qualifier.
The warm and dry track surface was put to good use in the opening day around the classic 4.023km Donington layout. Sykes and Rea got to within less than a second of the outright track best on full race tyres – all while making their main preparations for the races on Saturday and Sunday.
Sykes was particularly surprised at his early pace as he was only working on a race set-up at a circuit he has won all the last six WorldSBK races at. The 2013 World Champion’s affinity with the Donington surface is well known and like all his fellow riders he appreciated the sunny conditions he encountered, despite red flag interventions delaying each one hour-long session for a short period today.
Rea was in happy mood as he worked on a consistent set-up, finding strong pace even on an unfamiliar front tyre towards the end of the afternoon session. The reigning champion worked with two specifications of front Pirelli, to evaluate which one should work best for the races that will take place on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th at Donington.
In terms of lap times Sykes set a 1’27.927 and Rea 1’27.966 today, with the absolute track best being a 1’27.071, posted by Sykes last season. Both KRT riders will now take part in Superpole 2 on Saturday to determine their final grid places for both 23-lap WorldSBK races.
Tom Sykes stated: “I am surprised to be fastest because again we were trying to work on race distance rather than pure speed so I am happy. I feel we have quite a well-balanced bike. We would like to improve in one or two areas, but in this moment I think we have a fairly acceptable bike set-up. The target is to try and improve one more step for tomorrow. It is always a pleasure to ride in Donington when the sun is shining and to go down the Craner Curves is always a pleasure. I am happy, relaxed and tomorrow will be another day where we need to look at making small, small improvements. We are only nine tenths of a second from the Superpole lap and that is achievable with the qualifying tyre. Everything is going in a good way.”
Jonathan Rea stated: “I am quite happy because we learned a lot of things in the first session. We confirmed a lot about the direction we have been going in with set-up. Also my riding style here is a little bit different. I am trying to put the Donington ‘jigsaw’ together because I feel I have never cracked it. It feels like in the second session today I was getting a lot more out of the bike, which was a big positive for me. I feel really positive today and that we can improve again tomorrow. To be close to the pace here, especially to Tom who is super-fast and is the reference, is quite good. It bodes well. Today feels like such a calm day because in the last few race weekends we have been changing the bike a lot and today we have been chipping away with something we know, and it is working.”
WorldSBK regular Roman Ramos (Go Eleven Team Kawasaki) returned to action after injury at the Donington weekend and set the 17th fastest time on day one. After two strong rides at Sepang as a sand-in for the injured Sylvain Barrier, Anthony West (Pedercini Racing Team Kawasaki) was back in action at Donington, going 18th fastest. Sheridan Morais (Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki) was a new rider for his team at Donington and went 20th quickest today. Dominic Schmitter (Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki) was 22nd and Saeed Al Sulaiti (Pedercini Racing Team Kawasaki) 24th from 25 riders.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Donington: Day 1
Sykes Fastest on Friday
Yorkshireman tops the timesheets ahead of Tissot-Superpole
A Kawasaki 1-2 ended Day 1 at Donington as the Derbyshire skies remained sunny for the first track time of the Acerbis UK Round. 2013 WorldSBK Champion Tom Sykes put in the fastest lap of the day to lead from his teammate as the Ninjas headed the laptimes, ahead of Davide Giugliano on the first Aruba.it Racing – Ducati in P3.
Chaz Davies, after showing incredible pace throughout FP1, ended the combined timesheets in P5 to gain entry to Tissot-Superpole 2 directly, but the Welshman’s fastest Iap in FP2 saw him end P11 in the second session after a mechanical problem. The cause of a Red Flag during the second session as marshals attended to the stricken machine, Davies’ Ducati couldn’t get back out on track after fire damage early in the session.
Alex Lowes, after having suffered a break to his collarbone at Sepang in Malaysia, was to be reviewed by the medical team on site for final checks ahead of his participation in the Round being confirmed. The British Pata Yamaha rider was declared fit to race after FP1 and continued his impressive form in FP2, ending the day P4 on the combined timesheets at his home track. Temporary teammate Cameron Beaubier, riding in place of injured Sylvain Guintoli, also impressed on his first outing in WorldSBK in 2016, as the American ended the first day in P9.
Leon Camier ended the day in P6 after an impressive first day, with the Brit fifth fastest in FP2 and continuing his 2016 momentum on Day 1 at his home race. The MV Agusta rider goes straight through to Tissot-Superpole 2 once again as the chassis impresses at Donington Park, just ahead of IodaRacing rider Lorenzo Savadori on his Aprilia, with the 2015 STK1000 Race winner at Donington ending Day 1 in P7.
Althea BMW rider Jordi Torres ended the day P8 as fastest German machine on Friday, with Milwaukee BMW rider Karel Abraham also in the top ten on the combined times at his team’s home race with a good show of pace from the Czech rider.
Big casualties in the fight to graduate directly to Superpole 2 were Honda WorldSBK Team’s Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark, as the Malaysia winner and the Dutch podium regular found themselves outside the top ten in P11 and P15 respectively. With more track time in FP3 ahead of Superpole 1 however, the Honda team will be looking to move up the grid and back into position before Race 1 begins at 15:00 local time (GMT +1) on Saturday 28th May in the one off schedule for Donington Park.
WorldSSP: Rea Quickest on Day 1
Brit reigns at home on the first day of #UKWorldSBK at Donington
GRT rider Gino Rea took top honours on Friday at home at Donington Park, as the British rider topped the timesheets to lead the charge into Tissot-Superpole on Day 2. WorldSSP rookie Randy Krummenacher finished Friday in P2 for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing, ahead of his teammate and reigning Champion Kenan Sofuoglu.
Turk Sofuoglu, who announced a one year renewal with team Kawasaki Puccetti Racing before the second practice session of the day, suffered an uncharacteristic fall in FP2 but recovered to get back out on track quickly and set more competitive lap times, and was just edged out of P2 at the end of the session by teammate Krummenacher’s last lap of the day. Brit Luke Stapleford took his Triumph into the top 4 on Day 1 for more home glory and ended Friday with direct entry to Tissot-Superpole in P4.
Honda World Supersport Team rider PJ Jacobsen, who was fast but suffered a fall during FP1, was again quick in FP2 and ended Friday in P5 after having a hot lap hindered by traffic. The American had set red sectors before encountering a slower rider near the end of the lap and losing a lot of time. P6 was taken by Italian Ayrton Badovini, the winner in Malaysia, ahead of fastest FIM Europe Supersport Cup rider of the day Ilya Mikhalchik.
CIA Landlord Insurance Honda rider Kyle Smith was another Brit in the top ten on Day 1 at Donington as the local rider ended the day in P8, ahead of MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider Lorenzo Zanetti and Team GOELEVEN’s Ondrej Jezek. Jezek was the last graduate to Tissot-Superpole 2 from Friday, with MV Agusta’s Jules Cluzel missing out in P13 after technical trouble.
WorldSSP will be back out for FP3 on Saturday morning, before Tissot-Superpole decides the grid ahead of Sunday’s Race at 12:00pm local time (GMT+1).
P1 – Tom Sykes @TheRealTomSykes
Kawasaki Racing Team @KRT_WorldSBK
“I’m relatively happy. Overall FP1 and FP2 have been quite standard. Definitely a lot of good information and the sun’s been shining…it’s always a pleasure to go down the Craner Curves with the sun on your neck! I’m really enjoying myself and now just working for tomorrow. I was a bit surprised to be fastest because we’ve been working on distance and there’s one or two adjustments I want to work on in the morning session, but I think we’ve got a good setup.”
P2 – Jonathan Rea @jonathanrea
Kawasaki Racing Team @KRT_WorldSBK
“I’m really happy. The direction we’ve been going in over the last few races seems like I’m feeling more and more comfortable on the bike and today was such a stress free day. Normally in between sessions we’ve been turning the bike upside down but today we were just chipping away at a base setting and working a bit with the electronics. There are some positives and negatives on both options race tyres that we need to check data on so we can understand them completely, but for a Friday I feel quite positive. Especially to be so close to the fastest lap of the day.”
P3 – Davide Giugliano @DavideGiugliano
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati @ArubaRacing
“It was a very good day. It was possible to ride very good and very fast. I have a new setup and it has made it possible to ride how I like. With some hard work tonight I think it’s possible to go faster tomorrow. I want to be on the front row but it will be difficult because the Kawasakis and Chaz are very fast.”
WorldSSP: Rea Reigned Day 1 at Home
P1 – Gino Rea @GinoRea
GRT Racing Team @GRTRacingTeam
“It doesn’t get much better than that to be honest! It’s a great start to my home race and it’s the best Friday we’ve had all year. It’s a nice feeling and it’s been a while. The team have worked really hard for this and we’ve just been chipping away all year. Now I’m getting to a point where I feel comfortable on the bike and it feels like my bike – I can ride like my old self. Second this morning with the harder tyre and we experimented this afternoon with the softer, and I was able to put it on top so it’s a great way to start the weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Davide Giugliano in 3rd place after the first day of practice in Donington, Chaz Davies 5th despite a technical problem
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team took it to the track once again today in Donington (U.K.) for the seventh round of the WorldSBK championship. Both Davide Giugliano and Chaz Davies closed the first day of practice in the top 5, posting the third and fifth fastest time respectively.
Giugliano moved further steps forward together with his team in the process of fine-tuning his Panigale R, consistently lapping with times worthy of the virtual podium and finishing 0.376 seconds behind the provisional leader Tom Sykes, author of a 1:27.927. Davies, who in the morning was 4th, just a tenth of a second behind his teammate, was penalyzed by a technical problem during FP2. The issue, which is still under investigation, confined the Welshman in the pits for most of the session, allowing him to only to clock seven laps on used tyres without the possibility to improve his previous best time (+0.944 from the provisional best).
Both riders will have 15 more minutes of track time before heading straight into Superpole2, scheduled for 11:40 local time (CET -1) in anticipation of Race One (15:00).
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #34) – 3rd
“For sure, today was a good day for us. The Panigale R gave a positive feedback, allowing me to ride it the way I want to, having fun on it and managing to be quite fast right from the beginning. The new setup proved to be competitive. We’ve been working on together with the team since Imola, and we’ve progressively narrowed the gap. Now we’ll study some minor changes to help me recover those few tenths of a second that separate us from the top and secure first row. Anyway, on such a physical track the race pace is even more important, so that’s what we’ll focus on. I expect a tough battle against the Kawasakis and also Chaz, who was just unlucky today.”
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 5th
“During FP2, I was just starting to push when I felt a weird spin on the rear but I didn’t see any flags so I didn’t stop right away. Unfortunately, the rulebook doesn’t allow to have the second bike ready, so we’ve lost 40 minutes in what’s probably the most important session to work on race pace, because this morning we’ve been evaluating tyres without making significant setup changes. Looking at the bright side, it’s clear that the Panigale R is competitive also on this circuit and so we just need to make the most of our track time before the race tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda World Superbike Team:
Challenging first day of action for the Honda WorldSBK Team in UK
Round 7 – UK
Donington Park, United Kingdom
The opening day of action for the seventh round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship has drawn to a close at Donington Park, with Honda WorldSBK duo Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark eleventh and fifteenth, respectively, in the combined times of today’s two free practice sessions. Therefore, both riders will enter tomorrow’s first session of Superpole, with the goal to make it through and join today’s top-10 riders into the final fifteen minutes of qualifying.
In what has been a sunny and warm day in England’s East Midlands, race two winner at Sepang Nicky Hayden had to reacquaint himself with the 4.023 Km English track he last raced on back in 2009. The 34-year-old American was eighth at the end of free practice 1 and, at the end of the second session, he came only 0.116 seconds short of a top-10 finish after logging a 1’29.068 on his nineteenth lap.
Michael van der Mark had a difficult time in getting up to speed today, although he was able to lap one second quicker during FP2 compared to the morning session. The young Dutchman will continue to work hard with his crew in order to improve his feeling with the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP around the iconic Donington Park circuit.
A 15-minute FP3 session will be contested tomorrow morning at 9:50 local time (GMT+1), with Superpole 1 set to get underway at 11:15 and race one at 15:00.
Nicky Hayden 69
11th / 1’29.184
It wasn’t an easy day for sure. We were not able to be fast from the beginning, we tried some different options but this track needs such a great balance given the different nature between the fast and slow halves that you need to make a compromise, in terms of set-up and gearing, to make the bike work well from start to finish. My ideal time in the afternoon was not too bad, seventh fastest overall, but of course ideal times don’t work. There are definitely some areas where we know we need to improve; we need to make the right adjustments with an eye on the overall set-up and hopefully we’ll be able to do a better job tomorrow.
Michael van der Mark 60
15th / 1’29.359
Today has been a difficult day and I’m surely not happy with how things went. The main problem this afternoon was braking, while this afternoon things started to get better. I did a long run that turned out to be quite encouraging and when I came back, we worked on some further changes. Unfortunately, we were a little bit on the limit with the suspension settings and we couldn’t improve our lap time in the end. To be honest, though, I think we’re in a better situation than our position today would suggest. I’m sure that, with some changes to the set-up, we can still go for a good qualifying result and be ready for the race.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
This morning we focused a little bit on gearing but unfortunately it didn’t lead to an improvement, so we went back to the same ones we have been using for the past few seasons. We then did a lot of set-up work on electronics, engine braking and general handling of the bike. Nicky was very competitive in the first two splits but somehow he wasn’t able to be as quick in the second part of the track and that didn’t help him moving into the top 10. An eleventh place is not ideal, but we know what we need to do. Michael did a good long run in the afternoon but he wasn’t able to make the most of new tyres in the end, due to a small change that didn’t work out. We know he can be much faster than we he’s shown today over a single lap and we will now look ahead to tomorrow, as there is still big room for improvement.
More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing BMW:
Positive start for the Althea BMW Racing Team at Donington Park
Donington Park (UK), Friday 27 May 2016
The seventh round of the Superbike World championship got underway today at the historic Donington Park track, with the riders of the Althea BMW Racing Team making an overall good start. While SBK riders Jordi Torres and Markus Reiterberger closed day one in eighth and twelfth place respectively, with a few aspects to improve on tomorrow, Superstock rider Raffaele De Rosa dominated in his category, finishing in overall first position today.
Today’s sessions all took place in dry conditions, with a temperature of around 15°C. During the morning’s first timed practice, Jordi Torres worked with his technicians to set up his BMW, closing in twelfth place (1’29.965). Markus Reiterberger, who hasn’t raced here since 2008, spent time getting back to grips with the technical layout of the track, closing in fifteenth place (1’30.079). Both of the Althea BMW men were able to improve in the afternoon’s session. Torres finished the day in eighth place, recording a best of 1’28.996 and therefore qualifying for tomorrow’s Superpole 2; Reiterberger concluded twelfth, (1’29.227) and will face Superpole 1.
In the Stock1000 category, Althea BMW representative Raffaele De Rosa dominated first practice, leading the way by setting a best of 1’30.760. In the afternoon, the Italian was able to improve on his best time of the morning by a good seven tenths (1’30.017), maintaining his leadership and closing day 1 at the front of the pack.
Jordi Torres:
“Today wasn’t too bad, considering this is a tricky track for us. You need a lot of engine brake in the final section and, while most of the track is OK, we still have work to do in that final part. We’re able to make a decent fast lap but I’m still not sure about our race pace. We need to focus more on that tomorrow and we’ll see… There’s room for improvement let’s say…”
Markus Reiterberger:
“Today was very hard. The first session I spent learning the track, as I hadn’t been here since 2008 on the 125cc, and a few laps were just not enough for me to get to grips with it. We made a change to the setting ready for the second session but unfortunately this didn’t help, I didn’t have good feeling and risked crashing in fact. So then we moved back to what we had before and I was able to make a step forward but not enough to qualify for SP2, so we’ll continue our work on the setting tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:
CAMIER FINISH 6° AFTER OPENING DAY AT DONINGTON PARK
The MV Agusta Reparto Corse Team and riders Leon Camier, Jules Cluzel and Lorenzo Zanetti arrived in England to take part at the WorldSBK and WorldSSP UK Round, as the English venue Donington Park circuit hosts the seventh round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship this weekend.
WorldSBK – FP1, FP2
The opening day of the British round of the WorldSBK was held in dry condition and Leon Camier managed to show an excellent performance on his home track, finishing in 6th place the FP1 session with a 1’29.221 lap time, less than 0.7s by the rider on top. In the second and final session the British rider has lowered other 0,3s to his best lap, confirming the 6th place in the time sheet and accessing the Superpole2 tomorrow.
WorldSSP – FP1, FP2
In today’s timed practice Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse wanted to test new electronic settings, which obviously lengthened the time required to reach a set-up similar to the other competitors. Moreover, Cluzel had to stand by for about 40 minutes to the box at the beginning of the second session, because of the breaking and consequent replacement of the oil radiator. The Frenchman could not do better than 13th position (1’32.119), while his teammate, the Italian Lorenzo Zanetti finished in 9th position (1’31.682), entering to the Superpole2 tomorrow.
Cluzel, currently 3rd in championship standings, will start from the Superpole1 and will try to comeback the ranks ahead of the WorldSSP race on Sunday.
The MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider will be back on track tomorrow morning, when they will face the respective Superpole session, chasing the best grid position. While the WorldSBK Race 1 is scheduled at 15:00 local time (UK).
Leon Camier #2 – I am very happy with this first day at Donington, my home track. The feeling with the bike was definitely good and I was able to lap pretty fast today. We still lack a small step to get into the top 5 but the 6th position definitely is a result that let us hoping for a good Superpole2 and race.
Jules Cluzel #16 – This afternoon we have basically not rode. Unfortunately we faced a technical problem in the first session that created another problem in the afternoon session, forcing me to go out only in the last minutes of the second session. Now we have to work hard to figure out exactly how to fix this situation and being competitive for tomorrow’s sessions.
Lorenzo Zanetti #87 – We’re doing a little ‘hard for some race because of some minor problems. Today we knew we couldn’t fight with the top positions because this morning we had to try a few things that the boys have prepared during the week, just to try to take another step forward. Unfortunately, these changes did not work and we had to start from zero in the second session. In the end we found a base allowing us to stay in the top 10. Tomorrow we will use a new engine and I am confident that this will help us in tomorrow’s qualifying day.
More, from a press release issued by Honda World Supersport Team:
Great pace for PJ Jacobsen at Donington Park on opening day
Round 7 – UK
Donington Park, United Kingdom
PJ Jacobsen and the Honda WorldSSP Team have concluded the opening day of World Supersport action at Donington Park in fifth place, with clear indications of a promising race pace after two hours of free practice around the 4.023 Km circuit located in the UK’s East Midlands.
The 22-year-old American and his crew worked hard on race-distance speed throughout the whole day; last year’s WorldSSP Vice Champion was in attack mode and, despite a small crash at the ‘Fogarty Esses’ in the second half of FP1, he was able to finish the first session in sixth place. Jacobsen continued to show great form in the afternoon; due to heavy traffic in the final stages, though, he missed the opportunity for a quicker lap-time before the chequered flag was deployed.
World Supersport action will resume tomorrow morning with the 15-minute free practice 3 scheduled at 9:25 local time (GMT +1). The seventh-round Superpole 2 session will get underway at 12:40.
Patrick Jacobsen 2
5th / 1’31.366
Things went pretty well today. I think our race rhythm is really good and very similar to the one shown by Kenan Sofuoglu. On this track there are many riders who are capable of being quick over a single lap, but I think over race distance things can be quite different. Our goal for tomorrow morning is to try and break into the high 30s/low 31s on race pace and if we do that, I think we’ll be in the right conditions for a great Superpole and a strong race.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
PJ did a great job today. We made some changes to the set-up of both front fork and springs, along with other adjustments to the bike settings. When we put a new set of tyres on in the end, despite improving in every sector he was caught up in traffic a bit and just couldn’t put together the right lap. Nevertheless, he showed a great pace over the race distance and his ideal time is very close to the top. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow but things are looking very promising.
More, from a press release issued by CIA Insurance Honda:
Superpole 2 for Smith at home
CIA Landlord Insurance Honda’s Kyle Smith ended day one of the seventh round of the World Supersport Championship at his home circuit Donington Park in eighth place and with direct entry to Tissot Superpole 2 on Saturday.
Kyle said: “Overall it was a pretty positive day. This morning especially we managed to pick the pace up early on in the session. This afternoon I was doing a race run to check for tyre life and I struggled to up the pace. At the end of the session we made a few changes but I’m confident we are in the ball park for the race.”
Hikari Okubo got to grips learning another new circuit finishing Friday’s sessions in 18th position and is confident of scoring more Championship points in the race on Sunday. Likewise Christoffer Bergman is also in with a strong chance of producing his best result with the team so far, finishing 21st in the combined results.
Local rider Stefan Hill improved throughout the two Free Practice sessions and whilst he finished in 26th, he was working well.
CIA Landlord Insurance Honda Team Manager, Simon Buckmaster said: “Kyle was right on the pace this morning and his time was set on the 12th lap of the tyre in the afternoon which is a very good time at that stage of the tyre life. We need to understand why the pace is not there when the tyre is new. We are in Superpole 2 tomorrow with Kyle and can expect fantastic pace from him in the later stages of the race but we need to solve the problem and have the pace when the tyre is now to challenge for victory. This is Hikari’s first visit to Donington Park. He had a good day one and is confident he will improve again tomorrow.
Christoffer continues to improve as he gets to grips with the riding style required for the Supersport bike. Stefan has continued with the more measured approach he took from Sepang and step by step is understanding what is required at World Championship level.”
More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:
Donington Free Practice Delivers Fourth for Home Hero Lowes and Top Ten for Rookie Beaubier
Free practice
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK’s Alex Lowes and Cameron Beaubier safely secured their direct qualification into Saturday’s Superpole 2 at Donington Park in the UK today. Completing the afternoon with two top-ten performances, Lowes rode his YZF-R1 to fourth place, with Beaubier securing ninth on his debut day on the world-stage.
Lowes endured the pain to accomplish a positive morning at his home circuit as sunshine and blue skies greeted the local rider for free practice one. Testing his fitness and comfort aboard his Yamaha machine despite recent surgery to plate his collarbone, the Derby-based racer produced a top-five performance to conclude the first hour on track with a best time of 1’29.177. Cleared to continue by the championship’s medical team for the remainder of the weekend, Lowes returned to form for the afternoon. Circuiting with consistent pace, he concluded the day in fourth having broken the 1’29 barrier to set a 1’28.602 on his 15th lap.
Learning both the UK circuit layout and the WorldSBK-spec YZF-R1 quickly, Beaubier impressed from the outset of Friday’s two practice sessions. Improving on his early times lap-by-lap, the American finished his first 60 minutes in 17th but his 1’30.160 best left him just 0.4 seconds from the top-ten. The afternoon continued with more improvements as the 23-year-old sat in 11th at the halfway stage, just 0.03 the gap to automatic qualification. Finally claiming ninth with a 1’29.022, he concludes his debut day by securing his place in tomorrow’s pole position shoot-out – on track at 11:40 local time – ahead of his first WorldSBK race at 15:00.
Alex Lowes
4th / 1’28.602 / 41 laps
“A painful but positive first day! I think what is making me more upset is how good the bike actually feels around here. Obviously I have quite a lot of bikes to compare it to over the years and this is the best bike I have ever ridden around Donington Park. There are quite a few strengths with the YZF-R1 here, but just the way it’s moving around the first section – Craner Curves, the old hairpin and up through Schwantz – I can get in such a nice position and it’s turning well through the slower section. So to not be in the position to take full advantage of that with my shoulder issues is frustrating really but I’ll do what I can. The strength feels quite good for the first couple of laps and then I start to struggle a little. Two things can happen for the next day, you can either feel a lot worse or a bit better and I’m hoping to feel better because it’s moving a bit more. We’ll have to wait and see, the race will be difficult but I’ll do what I can for the team, for Yamaha and for the home fans.”
Cameron Beaubier
9th / 1’29.022 / 49 laps
“Overall I think today has gone pretty good! This morning I was a little disappointed, just because I was so far back but when you look at the times, we were only 1.5 off and you’re back in 17th! We ended the day a lot better, with a much better feel with the YZF-R1. I’m really happy to be invited into the Pata Yamaha team, everyone has been really nice and welcoming and I’ve been able to adapt to the bike pretty quick. I’ve still got some work to do, especially with learning the new tyres, I just need to gain a little more confidence with the front and get used to the bike. I think being able to sleep on the track and come back in the morning, having had one day’s experience to process, will be good. I really like how flowing the first section is, it’s like two tracks in one, you have a fast, flowing section then you have to park it and go in the last two corners. I definitely still have to work on the last section tomorrow just with the brakes and the front end feel, but overall it’s a fun track and it’s pretty crazy, there are so many fans here already and its only Friday!
“Most importantly I just want to thank Yamaha for giving me the opportunity to come over here and do this – especially in the middle of a title-fight back home – it’s pretty cool that my boss Keith let me come and do this!”