WorldSBK 2024 – Round Five
Donington Park – Friday
WorldSBK Rider Quotes
Toprak Razgatlioglu – P1
“I was feeling very positive coming here because I remember last year I was losing time in some corners and sectors due to the bike setup. I love the engine braking with the BMW and it’s working well. The bike stops easily and turns efficiently. We are very strong, especially in the last sector, but I’m not feeling 100% confident in the last two corners. We are trying to improve there. In all sectors, we are strong, but I feel like I am losing in some areas. I need to improve in those areas and I think tomorrow we can ride better than today.”
Danilo Petrucci – P2
“It’s always great to come here to Donington because it’s a track I really like. Over the past two weeks, I haven’t been able to work much on my injured part because I needed to regain strength, and I couldn’t do specific training for the bike. I’m lacking a lot of strength in my arm, and I’m worried about the final part of the race, so today I managed my energy. In any case, I’m quite happy with the feeling, and I think that starting from the first two rows, we have the potential to have a good race. The key will be the qualifying session.”
Nicolò Bulega – P3
“I am satisfied with what we achieved today on a very demanding track for us. Certainly, the day didn’t start with the best feeling, as happened, for example, in Misano, but we worked on improving between FP1 and FP2. It’s clear that it’s still not enough and that we need to take another step, but I am confident, especially because it’s my first time at Donington with the Panigale V4R, and every lap represents a growth moment for me.”
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-Fri-Bulega-LHF-936x1024.jpg)
Alex Lowes – P4
“Overall not bad today and I felt quite good on the bike. The track was a little bit different to last year, when the surface was new and it had very sharp edges. Today, we tried some different tyres on the front and the rear. We now have some good information and if the weather is dry tomorrow there could be a couple of options to choose from. The bike feels good, better from last year to this year, and with the evolution of electronics. The feeling riding up Schwantz Curve and towards McLeans means I have more confidence when the bike starts to slide and I can put the bike where I want. That is important over race distance. Things are so close in WorldSBK now it is only small things that I need. I think I am definitely faster than last year. How much? I don’t know.”
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-Fri-Lowes-Pit-1024x578.jpg)
Alvaro Bautista – P6
“The feelings weren’t bad this morning. However, we had to work on the setup to adapt the bike to such a technical track. I also want to thank the team for the incredible job they did to get me back on track quickly after the crash. Surely the feeling is not the same as last year, but I am still satisfied with how things went today.”
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-Fri-Bautista-Half-1024x651.jpg)
Andrea Locatelli – P7
“I think we did a good job today because in both sessions we had a good rhythm and made a good lap time. Okay, the position is not the best, but we know what we did today – especially in the afternoon, we only used one SC0 on the rear. We’re working really well to prepare for the race because in the end what will be important is the race result. I hope it will be dry tomorrow, but I think in general we have a good base set-up, I have a really good feeling with my R1. We were consistent until the end with the used tyre, so I think we are ready to fight and that we can get good results. Tomorrow morning it will be important to also prepare for the Superpole, but I think we have some margin around the bike where we can improve a little bit more and then tomorrow morning we will try to make a step forward on the lap time – and then we will try to start in front to fight for the race.”
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-Fri-Locatelli-Far-1024x561.jpg)
Sam Lowes – P9
“Today was a very positive day and it felt great to be riding again in front of the British fans. And it felt great to ride around Donington Park again. I haven’t been here since 2013, so even though I know the circuit, I felt like I needed those first few laps this morning to get familiar with it again and get back up to speed. We did a lot of good work with the set-up today and I was able to find a lot of time this afternoon. I’m sure we can take another step tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to putting on a good show for the home crowd.”
Axel Bassani – P10
“We have finished the first day of free practice at Donington. The first session was difficult and the feeling on the bike was not so good. We tried something different but it did not work. In the second part of the day, especially on the first pitlane exit, it felt really good with a used tyre. I was able to do some good laps. The feeling on the bike was really positive. We worked a bit on the back of the bike, but on new tyres I think it was possible to do a better job. What is good is that we now understand in which way we should continue to work. I hope for some good weather tomorrow and we will see how things are.”
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-Fri-Bassani-Pit-1024x787.jpg)
Dominique Aegerter – P11
“It wasn’t a bad day overall, but we’re still missing something. We were lucky with the weather and we could try all the options we have with the rear tyre and we’re not far from the top. There’s a big group very close and we’re part of it, that’s positive. We’ll work very hard tonight to improve my feeling on the bike, looking for a strong qualifying.”
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-Fri-Aegerter-Brakes-1024x646.jpg)
Jonathan Rea – P12
“We lost a lot of the first session due to a technical problem, and the guys weren’t exactly sure of the issue causing it, but we changed a lot of components in the bike and in FP2 it was gone. I didn’t really build up, but I got enough of a feeling to know that the bike felt good here. In the beginning of the second session I started with a long run with race tyres and just built my confidence working more precisely with electronics to set up the engine brake to Donington for my style. That’s an area we still need to improve a bit. We put in a new tyre right at the end and we just missed getting a second fast lap – in my first lap, I lost a lot of traction, it just wasn’t a perfect lap. We know there’s a little bit more potential than the result shows! It’s been a bit of a frustrating day because we couldn’t build into the day from FP1. A solid job, we didn’t change the bike too much, I just got some laps in the afternoon to build confidence and understand the R1 here and sector-by-sector just putting it together.”
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-Fri-Rea-Pitt-1024x683.jpg)
Remy Gardner – P14
“It was great to jump back on my Yamaha R1 machine and we had an interesting day. The morning was overall ok, but in the afternoon we didn’t improve as much as we expected, I’m struggling a bit with grip. I’m confident anyway that we’ll work very hard tonight and come back stronger tomorrow, we’re close to the top group and I think we can have a good Saturday.”
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-Fri-Gardner-Brakes-1024x691.jpg)
Tarran Mackenzie – P19
“Although I have a lot of experience here with different bikes, this is my first time here with a Honda Superbike. My initial feeling was quite good, although we had a small issue in FP1 that we had to work out. Then FP2 went really well; I actually set my quickest ever time around this track, so that was good. Times are really tight too, so just half a second quicker and I’d have been ninth, which is very positive. I’m a little frustrated as I feel I can do more, but we’ll keep working and I feel generally quite confident. Tomorrow we’ll try to string together more laps to have a better understanding of our pace, but the tyre doesn’t drop too much here, so it should be OK. It’s nice that I know this track so well and have some useful Superbike references too. I feel we’re ready and the feeling I’ve had today is pretty much the best I’ve had to date riding-wise.”
Xavi Vierge – P21
“A very difficult Friday for us. To be honest, the feeling with the bike is not even too bad, but we are slow. We lose a lot in acceleration when we open the throttle, suffering from a lot of spin. When we have circuits with long straights, we can recover in the final part of them, but here, with all the super short straights, we lose a lot. We need to focus on improving grip, and if we can do that, we can make a step forward for tomorrow, though I don’t know where that would put us in the standings. Every year, the others seem to go faster while we remain more or less on the same level. We can only keep working, of course, so let’s see if we can come up with something for tomorrow and what the weather will be like for the race.”
Iker Lecuona – P22
“I’m very frustrated with our first day here at Donington Park, not just for my position but mainly for the feeling with the bike. I was expecting much better after all the work and testing we did during recent weeks. This morning, we started with a setup based on the work done in the last tests, but I could not find the same feeling at all and struggled more or less through every section of the track, especially in the changes of direction. We made some modifications between the sessions, but this afternoon the feeling was, if possible, even worse. The team have analysed the data and decided on some big changes for tomorrow. I can only hope it will work because, although this track is one of the trickiest for us, we need to be doing a lot better than this.”
Adam Norrodin – P23
“Not an easy day to be honest, as this is my first time here with a Superbike – I think I’m the only rider who’s not ridden the Superbike here before actually. We did improve from FP1 to FP2 but of course everyone else did too. We have closed the gap slightly to the front and have found something that works quite well this afternoon, so need to continue in this direction tomorrow. The feeling on the bike is a bit better but we still have work to do to be ready for the races. I just need more laps basically.”
WorldSBK Friday Report
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was the rider to beat on Friday at Donington as he closed in on the existing lap record. Just missing out on the 1’25s bracket, the Turk claimed P1 for the Prosecco DOC UK Round as he laid down a gauntlet for his rivals, although they did close in towards the end of Free Practice 2, with the gap at around two-tenths following the two practice sessions. Razgatlioglu remained unbeaten on Friday at Donington as he went straight into the low 1’26s, around three-tenths clear of his rivals on a day where he stayed P1 for the majority of it.
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-Fri-Razgatlioglu-Lift-1024x577.jpg)
It was a strong day for BMW with Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) in fifth place, lapping 0.421s down on his stablemate, while Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was inside the top ten in FP1 and 13th overall. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) claimed 15th after a strong FP1 where he set a 1’27.052s, and he was the only rider not to improve their lap time in FP2, which meant the American was 15th.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) led Ducati’s charge as he claimed second overall, despite not running in the first stages of the 45-minute session. His 1’26.235s was enough to overhaul Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who was third despite several trips through the gravel on Friday. Team-mate Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was sixth, 0.567s down in Razgatlioglu, after he crashed at Turn 1 in FP2, but was able to-rejoin the session. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) had one of his best Fridays of the season, taking eighth spot and only 0.683s down on the pace, finishing directly ahead of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in ninth. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) was the final Ducati rider, which was eventful for ‘The Maniac’. Three trips through the gravel in FP1, plus a crash at Turn 11 in FP2, left him languishing out of the top 15.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed second place despite an FP2 crash at Turn 12, with the Brit losing the front of his ZX-10RR under brakes for the left-hand hairpin. He was able to take his bike back to the pits. In the classification, his 1’26.296s was enough to claim second place while Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) improved massively in Free Practice 2 to finish tenth overall. Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 18th overall on Friday at Donington.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was the lead Yamaha rider on Friday, claiming seventh place with a 1’26.688s, while team-mate Jonathan Rea was 12th and just a couple of tenths back. Rea missed a lot of running in FP1 due to electronic problems but was on track for the second half of that session. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed 11th as he narrowly missed out on a top ten, with team-mate Remy Gardner 14th and just a tenth away from his team-mate. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) claimed 17th with Philipp Oettl (GMT94 Yamaha) the final Yamaha rider in 20th. Yamaha has a new pre-load adjuster for this weekend, allowing riders to adjust preload as the fuel load decreases.
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-Yamaha-Preload-Adjuster-1024x604.jpg)
Donington proved to be difficult for Honda on Friday. Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) was the top rider after setting a 1’27.353s, but that time was only good enough for 19th place. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) was 21st, directly ahead of teammate iker Lecuona, while Adam Norrodin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) was 23rd and last.
WorldSBK Friday Combined Practice Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | T Razgatlioglu | BMW | 1m26.013 |
2 | D Petrucci | Duc | +0.222 |
3 | N Bulega | Duc | +0.225 |
4 | A Lowes | Kaw | +0.283 |
5 | S Redding | BMW | +0.421 |
6 | A Bautista | Duc | +0.567 |
7 | A Locatelli | Yam | +0.675 |
8 | M Rinaldi | Duc | +0.683 |
9 | S Lowes | Duc | +0.809 |
10 | A Bassani | Kaw | +0.825 |
11 | D Aegerter | Yam | +0.832 |
12 | J Rea | Yam | +0.873 |
13 | M Van Der Mark | BMW | +0.894 |
14 | R Gardner | Yam | +0.925 |
15 | G Gerloff | BMW | +1.039 |
16 | A Iannone | Duc | +1.088 |
17 | B Ray | Yam | +1.234 |
18 | T Rabat | Kaw | +1.304 |
19 | T Mackenzie | Hon | +1.340 |
20 | P Oettl | Yam | +1.471 |
21 | X Vierge | Hon | +1.592 |
22 | I Lecuona | Hon | +1.673 |
23 | A Norrodin | Hon | +3.681 |
WorldSBK Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 179 |
2 | Nicolo Bulega | 158 |
3 | Alvaro Bautista | 155 |
4 | Alex Lowes | 124 |
5 | Andrea Locatelli | 94 |
6 | Andrea Iannone | 83 |
7 | Remy Gardner | 72 |
8 | Michael Van Der Mark | 66 |
9 | Danilo Petrucci | 65 |
10 | Dominique Aegerter | 46 |
11 | Axel Bassani | 40 |
12 | Sam Lowes | 34 |
13 | Garrett Gerloff | 33 |
14 | Jonathan Rea | 31 |
15 | Nicholas Spinelli | 25 |
16 | Xavi Vierge | 25 |
17 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 23 |
18 | Scott Redding | 23 |
19 | Iker Lecuona | 19 |
20 | Tarran Mackenzie | 7 |
21 | Philipp Oettl | 5 |
22 | Tito Rabat | 4 |
23 | Michele Pirro | 3 |
24 | Bradley Ray | 2 |
WorldSSP
WorldSSP Superpole got underway with spots of rain in the air and Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) storming to pole position at the Prosecco DOC UK Round. The top spot changed hands multiple times throughout the 40-minute session, with the Spaniard setting a blisteringly quick 1’28.322 – breaking the previous lap record.
![](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-WorldSBK-Rnd5-Donington-WorldSSP-Fri-Huertas-Pole-1024x547.jpg)
After a dramatic Superpole, it was the #99 who came out on top to steal pole position in the final five minutes of the session from Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), who missed out by a mere 0.063s. Montella was unable to respond to Huertas’ time after a red flag was brought out with less than two minutes remaining on the clock. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) rounded off an impressive front row for Race 1 on Saturday, starting as the top Yamaha in P3.
Fourth place on the grid goes the way of Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), who set 17 laps across the session and will start ahead of compatriot Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha). Mahias rounds out the top five on the grid with Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) leaping to sixth on the grid on his Ducati to round out the second row of the grid ahead of Saturday.
Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph) continued to show impressive pace at his home round, earning himself a spot on the third row of the grid – starting in P7. The #69 secured his best Superpole result of the season and will start ahead of Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team), who had an eventful session in eighth ahead of Bahattin Sofuoglu, who was the top MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider in ninth after suffering from an early issue. Meanwhile, the final spot inside the top 10 went the way of Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) – completing a solid day for Ten Kate.
However, it was not smooth sailing for everyone with PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda’s Kaito Toba suffering a crash at Turn 9 after contact with Tuuli late in the session. Moments later, PTR Triumph’s Ondrej Vostatek had a crash of his own at Craner Curves before Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) had a fall at Turn 12 – bringing out the red flag. Despite the tumble, Edwards finished just behind countryman Oli Bayliss, the two Australians 12th and 13th on the grid. Luke Power will start from 27th.
WorldSSP Superpole Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | A Huertas | Duc | 1m28.322 |
2 | Y Montella | Duc | +0.063 |
3 | S Manzi | Yam | +0.573 |
4 | V Debise | Yam | +0.819 |
5 | L Mahias | Yam | +0.906 |
6 | J Navarro | Duc | +1.062 |
7 | T Booth-Amos | Tri | +1.183 |
8 | N Tuuli | Duc | +1.200 |
9 | B Sofuoglu | MV | +1.216 |
10 | G Van Straalen | Yam | +1.244 |
11 | F Caricasulo | MV | +1.281 |
12 | O Bayliss | Duc | +1.560 |
13 | T Edwards | Duc | +1.658 |
14 | C Oncu | Kaw | +1.712 |
15 | M Brenner | Kaw | +1.809 |
16 | M Schroetter | MV | +1.827 |
17 | O Vostatek | Tri | +1.835 |
18 | N Antonelli | Duc | +1.908 |
19 | S Corsi | Duc | +2.021 |
20 | J Mcphee | Tri | +2.053 |
21 | K Toba | Hon | +2.116 |
22 | A Sarmoon | Yam | +2.321 |
23 | L Baldassarri | Tri | +2.329 |
24 | P Biesiekirski | Duc | +2.364 |
25 | E Mcmanus | Duc | +2.383 |
26 | F Fuligni | Duc | +2.467 |
27 | L Power | MV | +2.514 |
28 | T Toms | Yam | +2.516 |
29 | G Giannini | Kaw | +2.608 |
30 | R De Rosa | QJM | +3.378 |
31 | K Bin Pawi | Hon | +3.473 |
32 | K Keankum | Yam | +4.089 |
WorldSSP Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Adrian Huertas | 136 |
2 | Yari Montella | 125 |
3 | Stefano Manzi | 114 |
4 | Marcel Schroetter | 104 |
5 | Valentin Debise | 78 |
6 | Federico Caricasulo | 72 |
7 | Jorge Navarro | 67 |
8 | Bahattin Sofuoglu | 55 |
9 | Glenn Van Straalen | 54 |
10 | Lucas Mahias | 40 |
11 | Niki Tuuli | 33 |
12 | Oliver Bayliss | 33 |
13 | Niccolò Antonelli | 28 |
14 | John Mcphee | 25 |
15 | Can Oncu | 22 |
16 | Tom Edwards | 19 |
17 | Yeray Ruiz | 18 |
18 | Thomas Booth-Amos | 13 |
19 | Kaito Toba | 10 |
20 | Simone Corsi | 10 |
21 | Anupab Sarmoon | 10 |
22 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | 9 |
23 | Luca Ottaviani | 9 |
24 | Twan Smits | 6 |
25 | Luke Power | 6 |
26 | Tom Toparis | 6 |
27 | Piotr Biesiekirski | 5 |
28 | Federico Fuligni | 3 |
29 | Marcel Brenner | 3 |
30 | Lorenzo Dalla Porta | 3 |
31 | Ondrej Vostatek | 2 |
32 | Gabriele Giannini | 1 |
33 | Khairul Idham Bin Pawi | 1 |
World WCR
Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) adds her name to the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship history books after taking her maiden pole position in the class. Carrasco will head the grid for Race 1 at the Prosecco DOC UK Round with just 0.839s separating the talent-packed front row. Ana was almost two-seconds ahead of the rest of the field in the opening practice session but her competitors narrowed that gap in the afternoon.
Joining Carrasco on the front row will be Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team), who was unable to make it a second competitive pole in 2024 but will start from second on the grid. The #6 missed out on pole position by a mere 0.532s and will start ahead of Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team), who rounds off the second row of the grid. Sanchez set 14 laps across the Superpole session, continuing a consistent start to the 2024 season.
Fourth place on the grid will be occupied by Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team’s Roberta Ponziani, who put in a late 1’41.728 to place ahead of Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha). The #36 had an eventful session with a crash at Turn 8 with less than 15 minutes to go but would return to track for the end of the session.
Tayla Relph (TAYCO Motorsport) is off to a running start at Donington Park, finishing Superpole in sixth and on an upward trajectory after a challenging opening round.
A packed top 10 awaits with Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1), finding a significant amount of time on Friday afternoon, placing the #46 in seventh. Joining Ruiz on the third row will be Lucy Michel (TSL-Racing), who suffered a late crash at Turn 3 and will start ahead of Ran Yochay (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) in ninth. However, rounding out the top 10 in Superpole was Ornella Ongaro (R 511 Terra&Vita Racing Team), while home hero Alyssia Whitmore (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team) will start from P20 on the grid, aiming for a strong result this weekend.
World WCR Superpole
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | A Carrasco | R7 | 1m40.581 |
2 | M Herrera | R7 | +0.532 |
3 | S Sanchez | R7 | +0.839 |
4 | R Ponziani | R7 | +1.147 |
5 | B Neila | R7 | +1.179 |
6 | T Relph | R7 | +1.433 |
7 | P Ruiz | R7 | +1.822 |
8 | L Michel | R7 | +2.563 |
9 | R Yochay | R7 | +2.661 |
10 | O Ongaro | R7 | +2.704 |
11 | L Kemmer | R7 | +2.858 |
12 | M Dobbs | R7 | +3.230 |
13 | A Ourednickova | R7 | +3.536 |
14 | A Madrigal | R7 | +3.604 |
15 | C Liu | R7 | +3.867 |
16 | L Hirano | R7 | +4.405 |
17 | E Bondi | R7 | +4.447 |
18 | N Van Aswegen | R7 | +4.915 |
19 | K Silfa | R7 | +5.355 |
20 | A Whitmore | R7 | +5.392 |
21 | A Sibaja | R7 | +5.977 |
World WCR Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Maria Herrera | 50 |
2 | Sara Sanchez | 36 |
3 | Ana Carrasco | 36 |
4 | Beatriz Neila | 24 |
5 | Roberta Ponziani | 24 |
6 | Isis Carreno | 20 |
7 | Ran Yochay | 16 |
8 | Pakita Ruiz | 13 |
9 | Lucy Michel | 13 |
10 | Ornella Ongaro | 9 |
11 | Chun Mei Liu | 9 |
12 | Nicole Van Aswegen | 8 |
13 | Lena Kemmer | 5 |
14 | Adela Ourednickova | 5 |
15 | Tayla Relph | 4 |
16 | Astrid Madrigal | 4 |
17 | Luna Hirano | 2 |
18 | Mallory Dobbs | 1 |
19 | Emily Bondi | 1 |
FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup
Japan’s Shoma Yamane took his second consecutive pole position of the season at Round 4 of the FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup in Donington Park, setting a new lap record of 1’44.682.
The morning’s Free Practice was held in difficult conditions for the riders with chilly temperatures and overnight rain necessitating the use of wet tyres throughout the session. Spain’s Marc Vich was quickest in the morning, more than eight-tenths of a second ahead of Eduardo Burr and Dawid Nowak.
In the afternoon’s Superpole, Yamane showed his pace from the very beginning, setting lap after lap at the top of the timesheets. The 18-year-old scored two top ten finishes last year at the British track, and this season he is feeling ever more comfortable with his R3; last time out in Misano he took his debut pole, and in Donington he followed this up with another fastest lap and a second consecutive pole.
At his favourite circuit, title-contender Vich was able to jump to second on the grid, and Poland’s Nowak completed the front row.
Championship Leader Gonzalo Sanchez will start his debut Donington race from seventh on the grid.
Young Aussie Cam Swain rounded out the top ten.
Shoma Yamane
“In this morning’s practice I didn’t have a good feeling and it was difficult to set a good time, I was only eighth. I worked together with the Yamaha mechanics and we changed some things such as the suspension settings. In the afternoon my feeling was much better, I attacked and focused on doing many good laps, this ended in a new lap record and pole position so I feel very happy and I want to thank everyone at Yamaha for their support.”
FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup Superpole Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | S Yamane | R3 | 1m44.682 |
2 | M Vich | R3 | +0.333 |
3 | D Nowak | R3 | +0.740 |
4 | E Burr | R3 | +0.817 |
5 | A Di Persio | R3 | +0.881 |
6 | D Joulin | R3 | +0.934 |
7 | G S Melendez | R3 | +1.642 |
8 | T Takahashi | R3 | +1.944 |
9 | M Salles Neto | R3 | +1.993 |
10 | C Swain | R3 | +2.257 |
11 | N Rivera Resel | R3 | +2.558 |
12 | M Borgelt | R3 | +2.595 |
13 | N Zanin | R3 | +2.795 |
14 | W Thongdonmaun | R3 | +2.873 |
15 | J Stephenson | R3 | +3.502 |
16 | I Schunselaar | R3 | +3.663 |
FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Gonzalo Sanchez Melendez | 116 |
2 | Marc Vich | 88 |
3 | Dawid Nowak | 71 |
4 | Eduardo Burr | 70 |
5 | Alessandro Di Persio | 65 |
6 | Takumi Takahashi | 54 |
7 | Shoma Yamane | 53 |
8 | Mario Salles Neto | 49 |
9 | Dorian Joulin | 45 |
10 | Christian Pucci | 41 |
11 | Nicolas Zanin | 34 |
12 | Worapot Thongdonmaun | 32 |
13 | Cameron Swain | 29 |
14 | Gianmaria Ibidi | 22 |
15 | Mert Konuk | 14 |
16 | Natalia Rivera Resel | 11 |
17 | Indi Schunselaar | 10 |
18 | Pietro Anastasi | 8 |
19 | Mitja Borgelt | 6 |
20 | Adrian Moya Ortin | 5 |
21 | Thomas Benetti | 4 |
22 | Alberto Beltran Garcia | 3 |
23 | Josephine Bruno | 2 |
24 | Jayant Chote | 1 |
2024 WorldSBK Calendar
Date | Circuit | WSBK | WSSP600 | WSP300 | WWSBK |
12-14 Jul | Donington | X | X | X | |
19-21 Jul | Most | X | X | X | |
9-11 Aug | Algarve | X | X | X | X |
6-8 Sep | Magny-Cours | X | X | X | |
20-22 Sep | Cremona | X | X | X | |
27-29 Sep | Aragón | X | X | X | |
11-13 Oct | Estoril | X | x | x | |
18-20 Oct | Jerez | X | X | X | X |