WorldSBK riders reflect on Donington R1 + WorldSSP/WCR/R3 reports/results

WorldSBK 2024 – Round Five
Donington Park – Saturday

WorldSBK riders reflect on race one

Toprak Razgatlioglu – P1

“This is an amazing feeling because Donington is my favourite track. This was a strong win with a big gap to the other riders. I’m fast this weekend and I take advantage of this because the Championship is important for me. We started the weekend very strong and when I did a race simulation yesterday my pace was amazing. It gave me confidence to know we are strong. I wasn’t pushing in the corners, I was just riding and I focused and I was patient and finished the race. It was a really good job by my team because every session we improved the bike and now the feeling with the bike is perfect. We have two more races tomorrow and I’ll try my best again.”

Alex Lowes – P2

“I felt quite confident on Friday as the bike was working well, and in FP3 this morning we tried some race settings and my pace was strong right until the end of the session. In Superpole I was fast enough to be on the front row but I touched the track limits green paint into T9, with a qualifying tyre on the back. That was my mistake, but with that small difference it moved us from third on the grid to ninth. I thought that was maybe my chance of a good result gone but I tried to make a good start and stick in there near the front. It was not easy to pass so I was waiting for the guys in front to sort of make a mistake. Scott made one, I could pass, Bulega ran a bit wide and I went inside him. When I had clear track my lap times were fast, I was quite consistent but I was a bit concerned when Bautista was coming closer at the end, because we know how fast he at the end of races. I felt good, the bike felt good. The front end was moving a bit, so maybe we can improve on that for tomorrow. But I have to be happy with second today because Toprak was in a different race.”

Alvaro Bautista – P3

“At the end, I can say I had fun starting from a position that was not easy. The choice of rear tyre gave me an advantage even though in the first laps it was necessary not to force the pace so as not to ruin the tyre. We did what we could even if it is clear that we are far from the last year’s levels. It will be important tomorrow to recover positions also in  SPR to start further ahead.”

Nicolò Bulega – P4

“I am quite satisfied even if this weekend the feeling with the bike is not at the level of the previous rounds. I had some problems on the front but that didn’t prevent me from having a good race even because this was my first time at Donington with the Panigale V4R.”

Jonathan Rea – P5

“One of the targets this weekend was for the top five – not that to achieve this in Race 1 means we can rest on our laurels, it will be nice to keep on improving! My pace was a little bit better than I expected. To be honest, we didn’t change my R1 drastically from Free Practice, we worked on small points this weekend especially with electronics to fine tune it. Top five and a nice little bonus was being top Yamaha – not something that we really think about too much because Loka was right there with me! It’s positive, but we want to be fighting a bit further up the field and we have two more chances tomorrow. It’s coming step-by-step and qualifying makes a big difference if you can get away with the front group from the start, but 23 laps of data is worth its weight in gold because now we can really sit down with the engineers and polish the settings a bit more for tomorrow to have another crack at it.”

Andrea Locatelli – P6

“It was a difficult Race 1 to be honest, the track temperature was different to yesterday and also to this morning. I was fighting quite a lot with the rear tyre, and I think we lost a lot of time compared to normal in this area. But, we need to keep looking forward as well as understand what the problem was. I was confident, positive and happy on the bike until the race and I don’t know why this afternoon it was really, really difficult to manage the rear grip and it was spinning too much. Let’s see what we can do, because we are not so far from the front group. I was sure that today we had a chance to be on the podium, but something happened so we need to understand and to improve to try again tomorrow.”

Danilo Petrucci – P7

“It’s really frustrating because our race pace was good enough for the podium. Starting from thirteenth, though, it was impossible to climb back up. The rule about cancelling laps under a yellow flag applies to everyone, but this time it hurt a lot of us and helped the rider who crashed. Maybe it’s something that needs another look. Anyway, as long as I could physically manage, I kept up with Bautista, but in the last laps, I just couldn’t get past Locatelli and Rea, so I had to settle for seventh. Tomorrow, I’ll have to try another comeback in the sprint race to start further up in race 2.”

Dominique Aegerter – P8

“We made a good improvement from yesterday. In the qualifying I was able to make a good lap to start from the second row, that was very positive. Unfortunately, I had a difficult getaway dropping a couple of places in the opening lap, but then I had good pace and tried to recover as many positions as I could. We scored at the end valuable points, even though we’re aiming for more, but we can build up a good Sunday from this race.”

Remy Gardner – P10

“Unfortunately in the qualifying I made a mistake which probably cost us the race. Starting from behind is not easy and in the opening lap I got pushed wide as well, which made things even more complicated. Pace was okay overall, but surely we’re looking for more. Tomorrow we’ll try to bounce back stronger and have good races.”

Andrea Iannone – P11

“It was a hard qualifying. I started from position 19 and despite trying to give my best, it was difficult to overtake. We certainly haven’t reached the best set-up and ideal feeling with the bike yet but tomorrow we’ll try to do better. Everything is new here for me, even though I have already raced it many years ago, because the bike is completely different from last time. Unlike the other riders, I have no data from last year to compare to today and yesterday.  I hope to reach a good result during tomorrow’s Superpole Race so as to have a better grid position for Race 2 and fight as much as possible.”

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Axel Bassani – P12

“There is not a lot to say because we struggled a lot in the race. In FP3 this morning it was not so bad. I do not know why but in Superpole we are always struggling. In the race, from the first lap, I was also struggling with the rear and felt very little grip. On the exit of corners and under braking. It was impossible to attack. It was not really fun to have a race like that, but I think we need to continue to push, to believe, and to stay positive that we can arrive at a good point. Congratulations to Alex on his podium finish.”

Iker Lecuona – P13

“Finally, today in the race, I was able to enjoy myself a bit. I fought with Gerloff throughout the race, gained a few points, and closed the gap with the group ahead. Considering how we started the weekend, struggling a lot more than expected, we can say that we found our way a bit. Let’s see if tomorrow we can make a little more progress and stay with the group of riders fighting for a top ten finish. Thank you to the team for the big effort and the good work. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Sam Lowes – P19

“Superpole this morning was fantastic and to equal my best grid position in WorldSBK was great in front of the British crowd. I struggled to find my rhythm in the early part of the race and then unfortunately the contact made me run off track and I lost a lot of time. It’s a pity because I was hoping to finish in the top 10 and feel that was achievable but the contact was purely a racing incident and it happens. I was able to continue and get some experience over a full race distance and in the last few laps I felt I was setting a competitive pace and was learning a lot. I take some confidence in how I was managing the grip and now we will look tonight to see where we can improve and be back stronger tomorrow.”

Adam Norrodin – P20

“It was a very tough race, to be honest. At the start, Tarran crashed in front of me, and I touched his bike, running onto the grass as a result. The guys immediately ahead were battling it out so I was initially able to catch them, but then they began pulling away out of the turns, while I felt I didn’t have enough acceleration. So my pace was 1’30, which is not enough of course, but I was trying everything I could to make it work but there was little I could do. We need to analyse the data carefully to see what we can do to improve tomorrow.”

Tarran Mackenzie – DNF

“Not the way I wanted it to go at my home round of course. I just got caught up in the pack at the start of the race and highsided. I hit my head and the doctors have said I can’t ride tomorrow. So I’m really disappointed to miss out on all three of the weekend’s races but hopefully I can soon be back on the bike.”

Xavi Vierge – DNF

“First of all, I apologise to the team. I made a small mistake on lap 2 of the race, lost the front, and couldn’t avoid the crash. That said, we need to focus on the positives of the weekend so far. We worked well and in the right direction after starting on Friday with so many difficulties. We made a step forward, and tomorrow we have two more opportunities to get a good result. Thank you to the team for the good work.”

WorldSBK Race One Report

Toprak Razgatlioglu converted his pole position into a holeshot on the opening run down to Redgate and then went on to stitch together a fantastic opening lap ahead of Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW).   Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had dropped to P4 at the start, losing out early on to Redding and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha). Bautista started to carve through the field after starting P11 on the grid.

As the race progressed, Razgatlioglu continued to extend a comfortable advantage to over four seconds, constantly running inside the 1’26 bracket. Toprak led from Bulega and Redding, with the latter being chased by compatriot Alex Lowes for the final spot on the podium. Alex Lowes was carving through the field, moving up to third at the final corner before catching and passing Bulega for second position two laps later. Meanwhile, Redding’s day turned to disaster on the exit of Turn 11, the Brit forced to retire with a technical issue.

Bulega consolidated a fourth-place finish, crossing the line 1.746s behind his team-mate after the Italian lost third place with four laps to go. Meanwhile, Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) had a confidence-boosting battle to fifth at the line – finishing as the top Yamaha. Team-mate Locatelli took sixth ahead of compatriot Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team).

The final spots inside the top 10 went the way of GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Dominique Aegerter, who took P8 at the line and was chased to the line by Michael van der Mark, who capped off a successful day for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team.

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took 10th place.

Not every rider managed to complete the opening lap including Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda), who crashed out of his home round. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) soon became the next rider to go down with 21 laps to go at Turn 12. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) dropped down to 19th at the line after having a trip through the gravel after some close racing with Gardner with 17 laps to go.

WorldSBK Race One Results

WorldSBK Superpole

A quick-fire 15-minute Superpole session saw Toprak Razgatlioglu launch out of the pits with all guns blazing. The Turk immediately went almost a second quicker than anyone had over the course of the weekend, setting an all-time new WorldSBK lap record around Donington Park in the process.

A few minutes later, he lowered that benchmark once again, a 1m24.629, absolutely obliterating the previous Superpole record set by Jonathan Rea last year at 1m26.041, and besting the the all-time lap record set by Remy Gardner only a couple of hours earlier in FP3 by 1.2-seconds.

Home hero Scott Redding then went across the stripe to make it a BMW 1-2.   Not for long, though, as Nicolo Bulega then split the BMW men. Still, Redding remained on the front row.

Sam Lowes was fourth before going down with just over a minute left in the session.  Danilo Petrucci demoted Sam Lowes to fifth as the session ended only for that time to be cancelled due to the yellow flags that Sam Lowes himself had caused.  That had been Petrucci’s only quick lap in the session, so the Italian was pushed all the way back to 13th on the grid, and Sam Lowes was back up to fourth.

Alongside Sam Lowes on that second row would be Dominique Aegerter and Michael van der Mark.

Heading row three was Andrea Locatelli ahead of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes.

Remy Gardner had topped the earlier FP3 session with a time under the previous lap record, but it didn’t quite come together for the Australian in Superpole, and Remy would start the afternoon race from 10th on the grid.

WorldSBK Superpole Results

WorldSBK Championship Points

WorldSSP Race One

The FIM Supersport World Championship returned to track at the Prosecco DOC UK Round for a thrilling Race 1, with Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) looking impeccable at Donington Park after taking the lead early on and charging to victory to take his 5th win.

It was a phenomenal WorldSSP Race 1, with Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) leading early, before being quickly attacked by Huertas. Once the #99 entered the lead he did not look back, extending his win margin to 4.679s at the chequered flag. Montella would lose second in the closing stages with Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing’s Stefano Manzi finishing in second position, a mere 0.188s ahead of Montella.

The lights went out and it was an impressive start from Montella with spots of rain in the air as polesitter, Huertas charged hard behind on the opening lap. Huertas did not take long to steal the lead, launching his attack on Lap 2 at Redgate and would go on to set the fastest lap of Race 1. Meanwhile, Manzi had a solid start, maintaining third and began to set his sights on Montella.

There would be drama for home hero, Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph), who would receive a Long Lap penalty for taking a shortcut and not losing one second. The #69 was in an intense fight for the final spot in the top five between Orelac Racing Verdnatura’s Jorge Navarro and Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse). Meanwhile, at the front, Huertas soon extended his lead to over five seconds – setting a consistent 1’29 pace.

With two laps remaining the #62 of Manzi snatched second from Montella, as all eyes turned to the final lap. Montella looked for an opportunity at every corner on the last lap but would not be able to find a gap in the Italian’s armour, settling for third and allowing Manzi to secure P2. Further back, there was late drama for Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), who crashed at the final corner on the last lap after contact with the #64. Motozoo ME AIR Racing’s Federico Caricasulo was given a five-position penalty for the incident – dropping the Italian down to P16.

Navarro took fourth at the line after a great battle in the closing stages with Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), who rounded out the top five. Meanwhile, after starting from the third row, Sofuoglu took sixth place at the line after an impressive ride to finish ahead of Booth-Amos, who recovered to seventh after his penalty.

D34G Racing WorldSSP Team’s Oli Bayliss was eighth at the line and finished ahead of Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team), who was dropped one position to ninth after the #66 exceeded track limits on the final lap. Meanwhile, the final spot inside the top 10 went the way of Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha), who was less than 20 seconds adrift from victory.

Tom Edwards crossed the stripe in 11th place as the highest finishing European Challenge rider to extend his points lead in that sub-category. Countryman Luke Power unfortunately recorded a DNF.

WorldSSP Race One Results

WorldSSP Championship Points

World WCR Race One

The FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship was back in action for Race 1 at the Prosecco DOC UK Round and it was yet another thrilling finale, with Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros. Racing Yamaha Team) storming to take a phenomenal victory at Donington Park.

WorldWCR treated the British crowd to a sensational race with a five-bike group battling for victory, with the win being decided on the final lap. Carrasco did storm to victory, closing the Championship gap to just two points. Taking second place after an impressive result was Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha), who also set the fastest lap of Race 1. The final spot on the podium went the way of Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) after a fantastic final lap.

Once the lights went out it was Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team), who led the field after a phenomenal launch off the line. The #6 did not hold on to the lead for long, with Carrasco launching her attack on Lap 1 before Herrera battled back – beginning an intense duel. Early on the front four began to break away with Herrera leading from Carrasco, Sanchez and Neila.

Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) soon caught the front group, setting the fastest lap as Herrera and Carrasco continued to battle. Neila soon entered the podium places, dropping Sanchez to P4 before attacking Herrera for second as all attention soon turned to the final lap.

Heading into an unpredictable last lap it was Carrasco who led from the Neila, who had just set the fastest lap of the race – aiming to take her first victory. Sanchez pulled off an unbelievable double overtake to enter P2, dropping Herrera to fourth. Exiting the final corner, it was the #22 who stormed to victory from Neila with Sanchez crossing the line in third.

Herrera finished in fourth, missing out on victory by less than a second and setting sights on returning to the podium on Sunday. Ponziani rounded out the top five after showing a strong pace throughout, finishing ahead of Ran Yochay (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team), who claimed P6. The #10 was less than half a second ahead of Ornella Ongaro (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team), who claimed seventh, while PS Racing Team 46+1’s Pakita Ruiz rounded out the top eight.

The final spots inside the top 10 went the way of Tayla Relph (TAYCO Motorsport) and Chun Mei Liu (WT Racing Team Taiwan).

Meanwhile, it was a tough Race 1 for Emily Bondi (YART Zelos Black Knights Team), who lost the front at the final corner with eight laps remaining. Alyssia Whitmore (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team) crashed with six laps to go, ending hopes of a good result at home. Things would soon go from bad to worse for the Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team on the final lap, with Mallory Dobbs crashing at Goddards after contact with the #16. Lucy Michel (TSL-Racing) would receive a three-second penalty for the incident – dropping to P15 in the results.

World WCR Race One Results

World WCR Championship Standings

FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup Race One

Title contender Marc Vich took a vital victory in Race 1 of the FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup, despite a red flag and restart due to weather conditions. The Spaniard was joined on the podium by Poland’s Dawid Nowak and Italy’s Alessandro Di Persio.

The rider from Mallorca got a good launch from his second-place grid spot, slotting into an early lead in the 10-lap race and attempting to pull a gap on his rivals. As the pack closed in rain started to fall in several sectors of the four-kilometre track and the decision was taken to throw the red flag after just three laps. At this point Vich was leading, followed by Eduardo Burr, Di Persio and Nowak – the four riders separated by just eight tenths of a second.

After the switch from slick tyres to full wets it was time for a shortened five-lap dash. Vich once again shot to the front of the field, but with a patchy track it was no easy task to hold off his fellow competitors. Di Persio and Nowak were quick to surround him, staying close through every twist and turn of the tricky British track. Meanwhile Burr and championship leader Gonzalo Sanchez fought to keep themselves in contention too. As has been the case for most R3 World Cup races this season, the podium came down to the last corners, the experience of Vich and Nowak versus the ambition of the rookie, Di Persio. Incredibly, the trio crossed the line covered by just +0.164.

Burr and Sanchez completed the Top 5 just ahead of Takahashi and Australian Cam Swain.

Marc Vich

“The race was difficult because we had a red flag for the rain and we all switched to wet tyres, but then the track started to dry very quickly so it was tricky with the grip. Finally, I managed everything well, I kept pushing for this victory and I’m feeling so happy. Tomorrow I would like to pull a gap, but in this class it’s so hard! I hope it will be dry and I’ll try for another top result.”

FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup Race One Results

FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup Championship Points

2024 WorldSBK Calendar