Home Round For Lowes And Rea
Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes will race at home for the first time since 2019 when the FIM Superbike World Championship arrives at Donington Park for round four of the current season. The action will take place between 2 and 4 July in front of a limited number of fans each day.
The Covid-19 pandemic meant there was no British round last season but this year Jonathan and Alex will have the chance to race at a British circuit again. WorldSBK itself was born at Donington Park way back in 1988 and there can be no more appropriate circuit to host the return to race action in the UK than where it all began.
The 4.023km long circuit in the very heart of the English Midlands has witnessed five WorldSBK race wins for Rea in the past, four of them on Kawasaki machinery. Through the years Kawasaki riders have scored 18 WorldSBK Race wins at Donington, more than any other single manufacturer. The last time WorldSBK raced there Rea won all three Donington races.
After three rounds of the championship on the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR Rea leads by 20 points, with Lowes fourth overall. Lowes scored three podium finishes during the opening round, while six-times champion Rea has taken nine podiums in nine 2021 season races, including four race wins.
Since the most recent race weekend, at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in mid-June, Rea and Lowes have tested at the all-new WorldSBK venue of Navarra in Spain. They approach Donington well-prepared ready to put on the best possible show for the small number of enthusiastic fans allowed into Donington this weekend.
Both Jonathan and Alex see their home round as an ideal base from which to build even more momentum to take forward into what is scheduled to be the remainder of a long 13-round/39 race season.
The layout of Donington features two strongly-contrasting sections. The first is almost exclusively compromised of medium-to-fast curves and several changes of elevation. The final Melbourne Loop section features hard braking and acceleration zones with one chicane, one right hand hairpin and one left hand hairpin leading onto the short 550m start/finish straight. Overall bike set-up is, by necessity, a balance between optimum performance in the faster and slower sections.
Unusually, there will be no WorldSSP races at Donington, nor a round of the WorldSSP300 championship. Both those classes will rejoin the WorldSBK calendar at Assen in the Netherlands between July 23-25.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “I am really excited to go to Donington because we missed it last year. We had a great weekend there in 2019 and it is a circuit that I really enjoy riding at. From past experience it is also a good track for the Ninja ZX-10RR so I am excited to get the new and improved 2021 model there. Our first home race in two years and we will have some fans trackside, which is nice, although it would have been good to have a packed Donington. There will be a bit of atmosphere there and I am looking froward to it. I hope to make a really strong weekend and work from Friday morning to understand the tyre options Pirelli has brought, and we will continue to fine-tune our bike to be ready for the races. At the recent Navarra test we tried some chassis options and we have a great understanding of the working window of the bike, so we have options should we face some limitations. I feel we really understood how we could get the bike to turn better and that will help us in some sections at Donington.”
Alex Lowes, stated: “It is great that we are heading back to the UK round of WorldSBK after missing it last year because of the Covid-19 situation. There will not be as many fans as we would like, due to the limitations that have been put in place, but it will be great to be riding in front of the British fans again. Coming up through the BSB series I feel a really good and close relationship with the fans here. That is going to be one of the main things that is going to be really enjoyable. The second thing is that I like the track, it has always been a fun track for me, and I have taken some good results there. On top of that the Kawasaki – looking back – has always gone quite well there. This will be my first time trying the Ninja ZX-10RR at Donington and I am excited about it. It is a track that looks like it works well for the bike. Kawasaki has won plenty of races there and the target for me is to get back on the podium. We had solid second and third rounds of the championship, but maybe the higher temperatures and some track layouts did not quite suit the bike quite as well as some others. So, the target is clear for this weekend. Get back on the podium like we started the year in Aragon and enjoy the whole weekend in front of the home fans.”
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Isaac Vinales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) will ride their Ninja ZX-10RR machines for the first time at Donington, in what is a rookie WorldSBK season for both former WorldSSP riders. Thus far Mahias is the highest-ranked Kawasaki rider in the Independent Riders’ championship standings, in fourth place. He is 13th in the overall championship table. Vinales is 19th overall.
Loris Cresson (TPR Outdo Kawasaki) will take on Donington for the first time in his new role as full-time WorldSBK rider. Local rider Luke Mossey will ride the second TPR Outdo Kawasaki at his home circuit of Donington, as he replaces the outgoing Samuele Cavalieri for this round.
More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK Hope for Home Advantage at Donington Park
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK riders Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Andrea Locatelli are eagerly looking forward to the fourth round of the 2021 FIM Superbike World Championship at Donington Park, near Derby in the United Kingdom, this weekend from 2-4 July.
Following success at Misano with Razgatlıoğlu and the team’s first victory of 2021, the largely UK-based squad are hoping for a repeat of its recent run of podium form. Donington Park was the site of the team’s dominant double win in 2018, which saw the first victory for Yamaha since the manufacturers’ return to WorldSBK competition in 2016.
Razgatlıoğlu also has fond memories of the circuit, having celebrated his first podium in WorldSBK in the runner up position in Race 2 of the same year. The Turkish ace’s personal record on British soil includes two further second-place finishes in 2019 achieved before he made the switch to Yamaha.
Teammate Locatelli will race for the first time at Donington Park this weekend, having missed the opportunity to tackle the unique circuit during his title-winning season in the FIM Supersport World Championship category due to the pandemic. The 24-year-old welcomed the opportunity to become familiar with the undulating layout during a training day, on a standard Yamaha R1, earlier this month with British Superbike rider Tarran Mackenzie on hand from the McAMS Yamaha team to offer advice.
The first opportunity for both riders to turn a wheel in anger will come on Friday morning with Free Practice 1 at 10:30 (UTC+1), followed by Free Practice 2 at 15:00, with mixed weather conditions expected over the weekend.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“Donington Park is a great track! Normally I like it a lot as it is really fast and flowing, I think it is my favourite track, but the last time we raced there was 2019. I am excited because this weekend will be the first time with the R1 WorldSBK at Donington. I remember in 2018 that Michael won both races with the Yamaha, so this year of course I want to be fighting again for the win. We will see, I’ll say it again, I am really excited! A lot can happen and we will see what is possible in the race weekend, but my plan is to fight at the front again and to enjoy the races.”
Andrea Locatelli
“I’m excited to ride at Donington – I have only seen it once on a training day with Paul when we rode on standard R1s. It’s been an interesting couple of weeks because we have also had two days of testing at the new track at Navarra. We did a really good job with the team and from this I have gained more confidence working on the base setting of the R1 WorldSBK for my riding style. The feeling is improving every time, which is very important. For sure, Friday will not be easy as I will need to learn the track with the full superbike and find the feeling on this circuit as well. Every Friday, it’s not easy for us but I am confident we will arrive a little more ready following the Navarra test. We will try to take another good step and have a good result in Donington, I think it is possible!”
More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport:
Donington Park is the next stop for BMW Motorrad Motorsport in the WorldSBK.
Fourth round of the season in the FIM Superbike World Championship 2021.
Historic circuit in the heart of England.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport using time between races for testing at Navarra, Spain.
Munich. Donington Park (GBR) is the next stop for BMW Motorrad Motorsport in the FIM Superbike World Championship. The fourth round of the 2021 WorldSBK season will take place this coming weekend (2nd to 4th July) at the historic circuit in the heart of England. The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team will once again be competing with riders Michael van der Mark (NED) and Tom Sykes (GBR), as well as Eugene Laverty (IRL) and Jonas Folger (GER) for the BMW satellite teams RC Squadra Corse and Bonovo MGM Racing.
After the third round at Misano (ITA), WorldSBK took a short break with no races taking place over two weekends. BMW Motorrad Motorsport used that time for two days of testing at Navarra (ESP). The Spanish circuit has been added to the calendar this year and will host the seventh race event of the season from 20th to 22nd August. The tests provided an opportunity to continue development of the new BMW M 1000 RR, while simultaneously becoming familiar with the characteristics of the circuit.
The focus now switches to the upcoming weekend at Donington Park. The very first WorldSBK race took place on this track in April 1988. Donington has been a fixture on the calendar since then, even though the event had to be cancelled last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Quotes ahead of the Donington round.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “The first three events of the season showed us what areas we need to work on with our new BMW M 1000 RR, and we did that during testing at Navarra, among other things. We tried out and evaluated a few new parts in the chassis area, for example. Now we are looking forward to the race weekend at Donington Park. That is a traditional, old-school circuit and the layout has a really challenging mix of everything. There are fast, fluid sections as well as hairpin bends, climbs and slopes. We will see how well our M RR copes with this track. We are excited to see what the weather will be like at the weekend, as that can always be an unpredictable factor at Donington.”
Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “We’re looking forward to coming to the UK round of the World Superbike Championship. The Navarra test was quite conclusive for us. We have a better direction with the chassis after the chassis work both Tom and Michael have done. Hopefully we can transfer some of that into the Donington event. The forecast for the Donington event is quite changeable. Friday is fair weather but Saturday and Sunday it looks like we have some wet weather appearing just right during the mid-days. So we could be racing in changeable conditions with potential pit stops so we need to be ready for that eventuality. Overall as a team, we are in a good position, disappointed from Misano for sure, but we need to put things right for Donington and hopefully we can do just this.”
Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “It was good to have a test at Navarra, not only as we race there later this year, but also as we had faced some problems at Misano and BMW responded very quick so we had some new parts to Navarra test. I was happy with the test; it was a step in the right direction but of course you have to see if it also works on a different track but luckily we have Donington this weekend. Donington is fantastic; I really love these old-school circuits. I had some good results there in the past and I love the circuit and the history and after missing it last year, it is good to go back there now. Regarding the characteristics, for me the first part is the best; it is fast and flowing and a really exciting section of the track. The last part does not really fit to that but there you have some really good overtaking opportunities so the circuit is exciting in two very different ways.”
Tom Sykes, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “For me, the Navarra test was good for a number of reasons. First and foremost it was to continue the development of the new BMW M 1000 RR. We had some items that we needed to confirm there and we were able to do that. Then it was great to learn the circuit and get some data there for when we go back in August for the races. Now I am obviously looking forward to my home race at Donington. I’ve had a lot of success there in the past and I really hope that we can find the set-up to enable me to be more consistent and stronger over the race weekend. We need to work on finding those last little items now to put us in that position. The new M RR has had a big step in terms of engine and braking performance and quite a number of other things so we just need to find the last part of the jigsaw so we can use all of this. I am looking forward to going there and fingers crossed we can have some good British weather. But we take what we get and try to get a strong result.”
Eugene Laverty, RC Squadra Corse: “The three-week break has given me a chance to recover fully from my Misano crash. I feel fit and ready to get back in the mix. The majority of the Donington circuit has a flowing nature and that suits the BMW M 1000 RR well. That said, we will continue to work on our weak area of braking because that’s where the races are often decided at Donington Park. Three hard braking areas finish the lap and that will be the main focus of our work during Friday practice in order to be ready for the races.”
Jonas Folger, Bonovo MGM Racing: “I am already looking forward to Donington, even though it has been a while since I was there last – 13 years. As far as I can remember, it is a cool track. Donington is a real classic on the racing calendar. I hope that we can take another step forward after testing at Navarra and that we can improve.”
