This weekend sees the HM Plant Honda team take on the World championship regulars when the World Superbike Championship makes its visit to Donington Park, Leicestershire. The Louth-based team will be converting its 2008 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblades to WSB specification for both Leon Haslam and Cal Crutchlow. Both will be wanting to impress in front of the home fans at the 2.5-mile circuit.
Leon Haslam – HM Plant HondaWorld Superbike – Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade“I’m coming off the back of a double win at Cadwell Park in the Bennetts British Superbike championship so my confidence is high. I’m very much looking forward to the World Superbike round at Donington – it’s going to be great to compete at World level again. The track is very special to me, being about 20 minutes from home and it’s going to be good to measure myself against the guys out there. We will have a higher-spec engine, with probably a bit more top speed so it’s going to be interesting to see where we stack up against the series regulars.”
Cal Crutchlow – HM Plant HondaWorld Superbike – Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade“I’ve done a World Supersport race before but this will be my first World Superbike race and I really can’t wait. Leon’s had a year of WSB, but this will be new to me and it will be a great experience for the team and myself. I’m well up for it, but we know it will be a challenge as Donington may not be the best circuit for us, but we will be doing our best to show off our talents. Tom Sykes did so well at Brands and that’s boosted his confidence so let’s hope we can do the same. It’s not a secret that I want to go onto the World stage as soon as I can so this will be a great opportunity.”
Havier Beltran – HM Plant Honda Team Manager “We're all really looking forward to this weekend. We said at the start of the year that if we were in the top four in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship we would make an appearance at the Donington World Superbike round. We are a UK team, with a UK-based sponsor in HM Plant and with two British riders so it's a good chance for us to shine. Leon and Cal are both up for it. Leon's coming here off the back of three wins in BSB on the bounce and Cal is fast, although his luck has deserted him a little recently. This is the perfect opportunity for him to bounce back and get some good results."
