The second round of the FIM World Superbike Championship heads to home soil this weekend, 25th – 27th March at the stunning, revamped Donington Park Circuit. It will be the first round in Europe since the opening round at Philip Island nearly a month ago and with so many British riders flying the flag there should be plenty to cheer about this weekend.
It was Spaniard Carlos Checa that took the double race win in Australia on the Althea Ducati and he will no doubt be in fighting form at Donington. Close on his heals were two more former MotoGP racers, 2010 World Superbike Champion Max Biaggi and newcomer to the series Marco Melandri.
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The Brits all had their fair share of problems, crashes, injuries and illnesses out in Oz and all have been working hard over the last month to get back and ready for their home round. One Brit who did have a good weekend in Australia was new BMW Motorrad Motorsport singing Leon Haslam who left there in a comfortable fourth place in the overall Championship standings.
Haslam who only lives 20 minutes from Donington is excited about returning to the track he knows so well, saying “I love racing in England in front of the home fans and I can’t wait to get back to Donington and with it being my local track I’m hoping to have plenty of support over the weekend. The track is something else and hopefully the weather will be kind to us and I hope I will be able to run up near the front once again, I can’t wait to get going there.”
Sixth in the standing is Irishman Jonathan Rea, Jonathan also had his fair share of bad luck in Philip Island when he sustained a wrist and finger injury after a crash in testing. However the youngster fought hard in the two races gaining some strong Championship points. Commenting he said “I’m really looking forward to Donington it’s always good to have two races in England and great for the fans. Donington is a very special track with a lot of history, I’ve not had the best results there in the past but that’s something I’m hoping to change this weekend. I’ve been working and training hard over the last month and also been having plenty of physio on my wrist to make sure I’m ready.”
One of the other Brits who was extremely unlucky in Oz was Leon Camier from Ashford, Kent. The 24-year-old was struck down with glandular fever before the first test in Australia and has been battling ever since to get himself back to full fitness, despite his illness he secured 13th and 6th place from 17th place on the grid in the two races. Speaking with him he said “It’s been a tough month getting sorted with doctors and making sure I’ve been resting but also training and it’s been a very fine line. I’m nearly back to full fitness now but the doctors have said it could take a couple of months to get out of my system. Despite that I can’t wait to get to Donington, I love riding in front of the home crowd and it really inspires you on. I’ve had a mixed bag of results at Donington in the past but hoping this weekend will be a good one and I can get a good result for the fans and myself.”
In the World Supersport Class two Brits shone through in Philip Island, one being rookie Sam Lowes, his first time at the track and the youngster secured himself a stunning third place in the race, having lead into the final corner he was drafted to the line and sucked back to third position.
The 20-year-old is extremely excited about Donington saying “I’m really looking forward to this weekend and to having some home support and riding in front of the home fans, I can’t wait! I love Donington as a track and it will nice to be at a track I know really well as I was a little out of my depth in Oz. I want to build on what I learnt in Philip Island and continue to keep improving, I’d love to get a win but I’d be more than happy with a podium result but most importantly I need to finish and be consistent throughout the year.”
Sixth in the Supersport standings was James Ellison, James suffered a nasty crash in testing in Australia and sustained injuries to his knee which required him to have surgery on the Thursday before race day. Despite the injury and pain Ellison, in his first season in World Supersport gritted his teeth and finished in sixth place in the race. Commenting he said “I’ve had a bad couple of weeks since returning from Oz, as soon as I returned I got myself back in the gym straight away but then my knee started swelling up so I went to BodyCo, a Sport Injury Therapist in Kendal and I got a telling off for not resting up! I’ve eased of from training and listened to the rules that she set down for me and things are now much better. I feeling confident about the weekend and hoping I can improve on my result from Oz now that my knee is on the mend.”
The action kicks off on Friday morning and all the racing will be shown live on Eurosport 2 from 11am on Sunday 27th March. Pictures from the weekend to follow.
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