Kawasaki 1-2 on opening day at Donington WorldSBK
A Kawasaki 1-2 ended Day 1 at Donington as the Derbyshire skies remained sunny for the first track time of the Acerbis UK Round. 2013 WorldSBK Champion Tom Sykes put in the fastest lap of the day to lead from his teammate as the Ninjas headed the laptimes, ahead of Davide Giugliano on the first Aruba.it Racing – Ducati in P3.
Chaz Davies, after showing incredible pace throughout FP1, ended the combined timesheets in P5 to gain entry to Tissot-Superpole 2 directly, but the Welshman’s fastest Iap in FP2 saw him end P11 in the second session after a mechanical problem. The cause of a Red Flag during the second session as marshals attended to the stricken machine, Davies’ Ducati couldn’t get back out on track after fire damage early in the session.
Alex Lowes, after having suffered a break to his collarbone at Sepang in Malaysia, was to be reviewed by the medical team on site for final checks ahead of his participation in the Round being confirmed. The British Pata Yamaha rider was declared fit to race after FP1 and continued his impressive form in FP2, ending the day P4 on the combined timesheets at his home track. Temporary teammate Cameron Beaubier, riding in place of injured Sylvain Guintoli, also impressed on his first outing in WorldSBK in 2016, as the American ended the first day in P9.
Leon Camier ended the day in P6 after an impressive first day, with the Brit fifth fastest in FP2 and continuing his 2016 momentum on Day 1 at his home race. The MV Agusta rider goes straight through to Tissot-Superpole 2 once again as the chassis impresses at Donington Park, just ahead of IodaRacing rider Lorenzo Savadori on his Aprilia, with the 2015 STK1000 Race winner at Donington ending Day 1 in P7.
Althea BMW rider Jordi Torres ended the day P8 as fastest German machine on Friday, with Milwaukee BMW rider Karel Abraham also in the top ten on the combined times at his team’s home race with a good show of pace from the Czech rider. His teammate Josh Brookes finished day one 16th on the timesheets.Â
Anthony West was 18th quickest on the Pedercini Kawasaki.
Big casualties in the fight to graduate directly to Superpole 2 were Honda WorldSBK Team’s Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark, as the Malaysia winner and the Dutch podium regular found themselves outside the top ten in P11 and P15 respectively. With more track time in FP3 ahead of Superpole 1 however, the Honda team will be looking to move up the grid and back into position before Race 1 begins at 15:00 local time (GMT +1) on Saturday 28th May in the one off schedule for Donington Park.
P1 – Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing Team
“I’m relatively happy. Overall FP1 and FP2 have been quite standard. Definitely a lot of good information and the sun’s been shining…it’s always a pleasure to go down the Craner Curves with the sun on your neck! I’m really enjoying myself and now just working for tomorrow. I was a bit surprised to be fastest because we’ve been working on distance and there’s one or two adjustments I want to work on in the morning session, but I think we’ve got a good setup.”
P2 – Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki Racing Team
“I’m really happy. The direction we’ve been going in over the last few races seems like I’m feeling more and more comfortable on the bike and today was such a stress free day. Normally in between sessions we’ve been turning the bike upside down but today we were just chipping away at a base setting and working a bit with the electronics. There are some positives and negatives on both options race tyres that we need to check data on so we can understand them completely, but for a Friday I feel quite positive. Especially to be so close to the fastest lap of the day.”
P3 – Davide Giugliano – Aruba.it Racing Ducati
“It was a very good day. It was possible to ride very good and very fast. I have a new setup and it has made it possible to ride how I like. With some hard work tonight I think it’s possible to go faster tomorrow. I want to be on the front row but it will be difficult because the Kawasakis and Chaz are very fast.”
WorldSBK 2016 – Round Six – Donington – Friday Practice Results
- Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team 1:27.927
- Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team + 0.039
- Davide Giugliano Aruba.it Racing – Ducati + 0.376
WorldSSP: Rea Quickest on Day 1
GRT rider Gino Rea took top honours on Friday at home at Donington Park, as the British rider topped the timesheets to lead the charge into Tissot-Superpole on Day 2. WorldSSP rookie Randy Krummenacher finished Friday in P2 for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing, ahead of his teammate and reigning Champion Kenan Sofuoglu.
Turk Sofuoglu, who announced a one year renewal with team Kawasaki Puccetti Racing before the second practice session of the day, suffered an uncharacteristic fall in FP2 but recovered to get back out on track quickly and set more competitive lap times, and was just edged out of P2 at the end of the session by teammate Krummenacher’s last lap of the day. Brit Luke Stapleford took his Triumph into the top 4 on Day 1 for more home glory and ended Friday with direct entry to Tissot-Superpole in P4.
Honda World Supersport Team rider PJ Jacobsen, who was fast but suffered a fall during FP1, was again quick in FP2 and ended Friday in P5 after having a hot lap hindered by traffic. The American had set red sectors before encountering a slower rider near the end of the lap and losing a lot of time. P6 was taken by Italian Ayrton Badovini, the winner in Malaysia, ahead of fastest FIM Europe Supersport Cup rider of the day Ilya Mikhalchik.
CIA Landlord Insurance Honda rider Kyle Smith was another Brit in the top ten on Day 1 at Donington as the local rider ended the day in P8, ahead of MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider Lorenzo Zanetti and Team GOELEVEN’s Ondrej Jezek. Jezek was the last graduate to Tissot-Superpole 2 from Friday, with MV Agusta’s Jules Cluzel missing out in P13 after technical trouble.
Aiden Wagner ended day one 19th on the timesheets.
Glenn Scott had technical problems in both FP1 and FP2 and ended Friday 33rd quickest, just behind young countryman Lachlan Epis.
WorldSBK 2016 – Round Six – Donington – Friday Supersport Practice Results
- Gino Rea GRT Racing Team 1:31.802
- Randy Krummenacher Kawasaki Puccetti Racing + 0.037
- Kenan Sofuoglu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing + 0.049
WorldSBK 2016 – Round Six – Donington – Friday Superstock 1000Â Practice Results
