Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
Donington Park, England
May 26, 2017
Free Practice Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:27.740
2. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:27.862
3. Leon HASLAM, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:28.139
4. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 1:28.166
5. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), 1:28.188
6. Alex LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:28.374, crash
7. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:28.567
8. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:28.683, crash
9. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:28.710
10. Lorenzo SAVADORI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:28.805
11. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta 1000 F4), 1:28.835
12. Xavi FORÉS, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), 1:28.905
13. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:28.971
14. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:28.995
15. Jordi TORRES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), 1:29.067
16. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:29.288, crash
17. Stefan BRADL, Germany (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:29.400
18. Jake DIXON, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:29.509
19. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:29.522, crash
20. Ricardo RUSSO, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:29.795, crash
21. Ondrej JEZEK, Czech Republic (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:30.295
22. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:30.684
More, from a press release issued by Althea BMW Racing:
Tricky first day for Althea BMW in the UK
Castle Donington (UK), Friday 26 May 2017
The Althea BMW Racing team is at the Donington Park track for the sixth round of the 2017 Superbike World Championship and round four of the Superstock 1000 series.
SBK: In the first session of timed practice, Jordi Torres closed 11th (1’29.170), while Raffaele was further back in 19th place (1’29.953). In the afternoon session, and in hotter conditions, both riders were able to lower their times, despite Raffaelle suffering a crash, with no physical consequences, in the final stages. Torres ended the day in 15th place with a fastest time of 1’29.067, followed by team-mate De Rosa, 16th with a best time of 1’29.288.
STK1000: On track this morning for the opening practice, Marco Faccani set a best time of 1’31.330, to position fifth at the end of the session. Back on track for the second free practice in the afternoon, the Italian rider almost immediately improve on his morning’s times, positioning second until just a few minutes before the end. Thanks to a fastest lap completed in 1’30.741, Marco closed day one in fifth position.
Jordi Torres:
“This track is a tough one for us, both in terms of acceleration and the changes of direction. This morning didn’t go badly though we believed we’d be able to improve in the afternoon. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and I suffered some bike vibration. We tried to resolve this by making a number of changes but the problem persisted and I don’t feel confident on corner entry as a result. So we couldn’t really focus on lap times but I hope to be able to do better in Superpole 1 tomorrow in order to progress onto Superpole 2.”
Raffaele De Rosa:
“This afternoon we improved a little on our lap time though we’re all quite closely bunched together. The result was not great but I’m feeling a bit better on the bike. The team has worked hard to adapt the bike to me and my riding style, trying to help me as much as possible which is great but I’d like to repay them by doing as well as possible and improving on my performance.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Positive Opening Day For Rea And Sykes
The first day of the Donington Park FIM Superbike World Championship weekend was blessed with glorious sunshine, and the official Ninja ZX-10RR duo of Jonathan Rea (KRT) and Tom Sykes (KRT) made the most of it to push themselves into first and second positions respectively.
In unseasonably hot weather conditions Jonathan Rea ended up being the fastest WorldSBK rider after the first two practice periods at Donington Park, with only his team-mate Tom Sykes getting close to him on what was a good day for the Kawasaki entrants in general.
Rea and Sykes had also been 1-2 in the morning qualifying sessions, showing strong early pace on a circuit which has been resurfaced in some areas compared to last year.
Tom was just 0.122 seconds from taking top spot himself today but Rea’s 1’27.740 lap time – already close to the existing race lap record – was enough to make sure of his overnight lead, despite also experiencing a slow speed fall at one stage today.
Wildcard rider for the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team, Leon Haslam, was third quickest, continuing the overall positive start of the Ninja ZX-10RR.
Now the top ten riders from Friday will automatically enter into Superpole 2, with the two fastest riders from Superpole 1 then joining them to determine the final race one qualifying positions on the first four rows of the grid.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “This afternoon we set off with the intention of doing a long run. We did a race simulation which as OK and we have a lot of good information now for the first race tomorrow. I think we will put our heads together tonight and try to improve in some areas. In the first sector I feel really consistent, in the last sector I feel quite good on the brakes if I needed to make passes and even in the chicane, which was quite a tough area for me last year, this is the best have felt. It is just sector two where I need to improve a little bit.”
Tom Sykes, stated: “I am definitely feeling a lot better physically than I have been recently and I am enjoying riding round Donington Park in the sunshine. It is definitely warm enough. We just need to dial in a couple of things for tomorrow but overall the base is there and things are working well. We have a similar bike set-up at Donington to what we have been running this year. I am just trying to make a couple of steps for race one tomorrow. Plan A is the same as always, go out and try to win both races.”
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team:
Bradl looking for improvements after day one at Donington Park
UK Round
Donington Park, United Kingdom
The opening day of the UK Round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship has come to a close, with the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team on track for Friday’s traditional two free practice sessions at Donington Park. Stefan Bradl, who turned a wheel at this track today for the first time in eight years, is 17th in the combined times of the two hours of practice and, therefore, will take part in tomorrow’s Superpole 1. On the other side of the garage, Nicky Hayden’s Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine was on full display, with his #69 helmet on top of the fuel tank.
With gorgeous weather blessing England’s East Midlands area, Bradl took his time to find his braking marks and riding line around the undulating strip of asphalt of the spectacular 4.023km track, which is known for requiring a lot of work in search of a good set-up for all sectors. The 27-year-old German rider was able to improve on his FP1 time towards the end of the second session by logging a 1’29.400secs lap.
World Superbike action at Donington Park will resume tomorrow morning at 9:05 local time (GMT +1) for the 25-minute FP3 session, with Superpole 1 (11:00) and race one (15:00) to follow. At 2pm, the whole paddock and many fans will gather together on the grid for a minute’s silence in honour of Nicky Hayden.
Stefan Bradl 6
17th
It hasn’t been an easy day, because we haven’t yet quite found the right feeling with the bike. This track requires a very good throttle response and smooth power delivery, so these are the areas we need to work on the most. I hope the weather won’t change, so that we can make the most of tomorrow morning’s FP3 and Superpole 1 to continue working on the bike set-up ahead of race one.
Pieter Breddels
Stefan had a decent start to the day and was around the top-10 in the first half of FP1, but from then on we were not able to improve as much we thought in the rest of the session and the afternoon one. Donington is a track that requires a very unique set-up being a circuit of two very different halves, so now we are analysing the data to come up with some adjustments to be made on the bike for tomorrow.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Donington Park Day One
Strong start to the weekend for Rea
World Champion leads both sessions on Friday in UK, with Sykes and wildcard Haslam also on the pace
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) enjoyed a positive day on Friday despite an uncharacteristic crash at the beginning of FP1, going on to top the timesheets in both practice sessions on the first day of the PATA UK Round.
Rea’s 1’27.740 time in FP2 made him the fastest rider of the day at Donington, with his teammate Tom Sykes second quickest – the Yorkshireman lapping +0.122s behind his Northern Irish colleague on the Kawasaki ZX-10RR. Also making a good start to the weekend on his return to WorldSBK as a wildcard was Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), who lapped third fastest overall, at a circuit he knows so well.
In fourth place Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was the only non-British rider in a top six which also featured Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team).
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) was seventh best, just ahead of eighth placed Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia). Completing the top ten and therefore going straight through to Tissot Superpole 2 on Saturday were Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Leandro Mercado (IODARacing).
Approaching the half way point in the session Lowes and Mercado crashed in quick succession, Lowes losing the front at turn 11 and Mercado heading into the gravel and down at turn 8. There were also spills for Riccardo Russo (Guandalini Racing), Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Raffaele de Rosa (Althea BMW Racing Team) as the riders pushed to the limits.
Earlier in the day Rea led the way in FP1 with a 1’27.828 lap, after a crash earlier in the session. He was accompanied in the top three by his teammate Sykes and Ducati man Melandri.
Rea crashed in the opening minutes of the first practice of the weekend but was unharmed and went on to lap quicker than any of his rivals, with Van der Mark and De Angelis also crashing in the session.
Saturday at the PATA UK Round will see the SP1 take place at 11am local time, SP2 at 11.25pm and Race 1 at 3pm.
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Melandri and Davies respectively in fourth and fifth position in the opening day at Donington
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team took it back to the track at Donington (U.K.), home of the sixth round of the 2017 WorldSBK Championship. In particularly warm weather conditions compared to the usual British weather – with air temperatures around 25 degrees and tarmac temperatures over 40 degrees – Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies fought constantly within the top five during the first two free-practice sessions, both qualifying directly into Superpole 2.
Third in FP1 on a track where he has won twice in WorldSBK, Melandri closed the opening day in fourth position in the combined rankings, 0.413 seconds behind the provisional best time of 1:27.740. Davies, fourth in the morning, took two tenths of a second off in FP2 to post the fifth time overall, only 0.013 seconds behind his teammate.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action Saturday at 09:05 (CET -1) for the third and last free-practice session ahead of Superpole and Race 1, which is scheduled to start at 15:00 (local time).
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 1:28.153 (4th)
“It’s been a positive day for us. We started off on the right foot, and the Panigale R worked well right away this morning. In the afternoon, we tried some changes to our setup, some of which worked while others didn’t. We need to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, because it’s hard to be at 100 percent both in the fast and slow sectors of the track. Also, the track is quite bumpy despite the resurfacing. It’ll be a tough race, with many fast riders and possibly erratic weather. We have to be ready.”
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1:28.166 (5th)
“It wasn’t a bad day, we’re not too far away and we just need to work on stability to improve my feeling with the package and be able to choose slightly different lines. The resurfaced areas are better, but the problem is that there are quite big bumps where the joins are. We need to tidy up a bit here and there to be more consistent. We’re working to improve the overall chassis balance and some electronics stuff as well. Also, we’ll use a much fresher engine tomorrow so that should give us a couple of tenths too.”