Friday free practice for the British round of the Superbike World Championship at Donington will undoubtedly be remembered as a day of limited activity, with the fewest number of laps completed by WorldSBK riders.
Shortly after the start of the FP1, light rain made the circuit slippery, forcing some drivers to return to the pits earlier than planned.
The situation worsened during the FP2, with even finer but more sustained and disabling rain.
They said…
1st – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team): “ The weather was not perfect throughout the first practice session. There were a few water spots on the visor, but we convinced ourselves that the track was good. The day was a bit difficult because I only did five timed laps. Right now we're feeling a little underprepared, but we're at the top of the timesheet so it's not too bad. We brought some elements from the test we recently participated in at Motorland Aragon. But with the little track time available today, it is difficult to know if we will be able to continue tomorrow. I need a bike that I know well and feel comfortable with. We will now have a 3 minute FP30 session to tune the bike before the first race. There is new asphalt here, a new level of grip and new requirements. The track surface seems quite demanding on the rear tire, to be honest. So, I'm not sure we're going to persevere with the things we brought to the test. »
2nd – Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK): “I'm really happy to be back here, it's my favorite circuit, but today I didn't really enjoy it because we weren't able to understand if the new tarmac is good or not in these conditions. I hope that tomorrow it won't rain and that we will ride in the dry! I also hope we improve because now we don't know which tire is good for racing, we'll see. There's not much to say, Locatelli rode a lot in the rain and had a very good time, and it seems that the grip is very high in the wet. I will always try to be 100%, I love this circuit and last year we had three victories, so this year why not? It looks like Johnny is still strong and I hope we fight in the race. There are a lot of people coming to watch and wanting to see some really good racing this weekend! We focus directly on the race. »
3rd – Philipp Öttl (Team GoEleven): “ Today we can only talk about the first session, because we couldn't complete a lap in the second due to the typically “crazy” English weather! In the afternoon we saved a sticker to have an extra tire for the rest of the weekend, as it looked like the races might be dry. We did a good job this morning, my feelings on the bike are good and I think that since the Misano race we are on the right track. FP 3 will be decisive for the races, so let's continue to work focused! »
4th – Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing): “ The first day was very strange because we didn't do many laps. This morning I didn't feel good on the bike but in the afternoon it was good despite the half-dry, half-wet conditions. We had a good lap and at the moment I feel good on the bike. We will see the conditions tomorrow and I hope to take another step forward. »
5nd – Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team): “ The track surface is good because many of the bumps from the old surface have disappeared. It's not brand new because it's been used by other categories, but it's really smooth and they did a good job. The bike felt good, but you can't really tell because I only did one or two laps, and the rain was spitting, so I didn't know how far to push, but it felt good. Obviously tire life seems to be an issue as the rear tire has deteriorated quite a bit. It's something we have to take into account for tomorrow, but the bike feels good. If everyone has to use the SC0 tire, maybe it will be a little better for us. »
6th – Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team): “ I'm really happy with our first day here at Donington. The circuit was recently redone and I immediately felt good on the bike. We made some changes which turned out to be positive and allowed us to be very fast. Unfortunately, in the afternoon, the rain forced us to stay in the pits, but I retained my sixth place, which allows us to look forward to tomorrow and the race with optimism. I thank the team for the support they gave me today. »
7th – Tom Sykes (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team):
Smiles and thumbs up from @TheRealTomSykes despite the weather 👍😁🌧
Sounds like an interesting story Tom! 🎤 #GBRWorldSBK 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/eU3XLHSnuu
- WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) June 30, 2023
8th – Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #1): “ There's not much to say. We haven't been able to do much work. We were only able to confirm the excellent quality of the new asphalt, which no longer has any bumps. At the same time, we did not have the opportunity to see how the tires would deteriorate on this new surface. The hope is to be able to use FP3 for this type of evaluation as well. »
9th – Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati n°21): “ It's really a shame. It was pretty much a wasted day. We needed to get used to the new asphalt, but we only had a few laps in FP1; so it was very difficult to push and gain a good understanding of the new surface. We have a lot of work ahead of us tomorrow, but it is clear that this condition affects all drivers equally. »
10th – Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK): “ Funny first day here at Donington. The feeling was good this morning, but I didn't want to make a mistake in bad weather because it started to rain and then it stopped. The track was really tricky and I think one of the most important points was to try the wet tires this afternoon to understand the grip and how everything works, because it could also rain tomorrow. The weather here is a bit tricky! But for sure, we know and understand something now and we will see tomorrow what we can do. We are more or less at the same level as everyone else, because the other drivers don't ride much. Tomorrow is important because it's the first race, but honestly, the feeling is not bad, the mentality is good and we will try to push hard! »
Superbike FP2 results at Donington Park:
Superbike FP1 results at Donington Park:
Classification credit: WorldSBK.com
