Leon Haslam prepares for Donington home round, also a favourite of Alvaro Bautista

Team HRC riders Leon Haslam and Alvaro Bautista are set to race at Donington Park (UK) this weekend, one of their favourite venues and one that also has a special place in the hearts of the WorldSBK fans.

Last time out, the team worked hard at the Misano World Circuit, completing the third championship round with a best result of sixth for Alvaro Bautista in race 1. Leon Haslam’s weekend was hindered by a few small issues that he is confident he can iron out in time for his home round.

There was no UK SBK event last year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, but both Bautista and Haslam reached the podium during the 2019 event at Donington Park. The British event is often characterised by mixed or wet weather, conditions in which both the riders are comfortable, Leon having in fact scored one of his 2019 podium-finishes in the rain (Superpole Race).

The Donington Park circuit, located in the county of Leicestershire in England, measures 4.023 km in length and is one of the historic WorldSBK tracks, having hosted the championship’s very first race in fact, back in 1988. It is the oldest British track still in operation today.

2019 RESULTS:

Race 1 – 1. Rea (Kawasaki); 2. Sykes (BMW); 3. Haslam (Kawasaki).

Superpole race – 1. Rea (Kawasaki); Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki); 3. Haslam (Kawasaki).

Race 2 – 1. Rea (Kawasaki); 2. Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki); 3. Bautista (Ducati)

Weekend schedule (CET -1):

Friday

10.30 – 11.15 – SBK Free Practice 1

15.00 – 15.45 – SBK Free Practice 2

Saturday

9.00 – 9.30 – SBK Free Practice 3

11.10 – 11.25 – Superpole

14.00 – SBK Race 1

Sunday

9.00 – 9-15 – SBK Warm-up

11.00 – Superpole race

14.00 – SBK Race 2

Alvaro Bautista  19

“Donington is a very nice track, one of my favourites when we went there with the 125cc and 250cc championships in fact. When I returned two years ago with the Superbike I found it more challenging due to the type of bike, but still very enjoyable. I especially like the mixed section of the track. I am also very happy to be back knowing that there will be fans in the grandstands because there is so much love and support for the sport and for Superbike here in the UK. As far as the set-up is concerned, we don’t have any reference points for this track, so we’ll start from a basic set-up and try to improve from there. In testing at Navarra we tried some electronic things that will probably help us in this race and let’s hope the weather is good and we can work well all weekend, never a given in England. As a team, we are really keen to take steps forward and move closer to the front, so we look forward to Donington with optimism and a determination to do well.”

Leon Haslam  91

“We didn’t race at Donington last year so it’s especially nice to be heading there again now. It’s my home circuit and so I’m really looking forward to it of course, particularly as we’ll have the support of some local fans. We completed a test after the Misano race weekend and they never stop working back in Japan, so we hope we can hit the ground running at Donington and fight for the kind of results we know we can achieve.”