Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) and Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Supersport Team) had to race on untried settings at Donington, after all practice and warm-up sessions were damp to some degree, but nonetheless each improved form their lowly starting places to record points scoring finishes. Parkes went tenth from 20th on the grid, with Laverty taking his time to get to know his new bike in the dry, and finally posting 12th in his first ever WSS race.
As the race progressed Laverty made great strides and set some impressive times as he chased a rider pairing in front that also featured Parkes. Laverty will stay with the Yamaha World Supersport team fo rthe next round at Vallelunga, continuing to ride in place of injured team rider Fabien Foret. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) was 17th on his Yamaha, while David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) was only 32nd in qualifying, while his team-mate Jason Crowe missed out on a qualifying time.
Broc Parkes (10th - Yamaha World Supersport Team):"Better that we had dry race than a wet one. We were down on dry settings too because we didn't race here last year so we didn't have a base setting to work with. It was not quite right, so we had to work hard to get there. That was the best we could do today. It was not perfect but it could have been worse."
Eugene Laverty (12th - Yamaha World Supersport Team):"I made some good lap times at the end but I had to be so careful at the start because I didn't really know the bike in dry conditions, and when you are riding in such close proximity with other riders, it could have been dangerous to try and push too hard from the beginning. But my lap times improved as I learned the bike and my second to last lap was fast, as quick as anyone really. It has been a difficult weekend but I think everyone can understand that. The weather was a disaster but to get a result out of things was our aim and we reached it."
Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team):"Of course I am not happy with tenth and 12th places but when you look back on the whole weekend it is difficult for many riders, not only for us. Eugene rode well and progressed through the field once he started to get familiar on the bike in the dry and he had to rebuild his confidence after crashing the bike in the wet. Broc was doing some 1'35 lap times in the dry and did well to come through the field to tenth. For the next race we will have a better base set-up, because we didn't have one for here because we had so little track time last year.."
Massimo Roccoli (17th - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni):"With no dry test time this weekend I had to use last year's settings on the machine and it meant that there was a lot of movement from the back end of the machine. Not a great weekend. We continued to test the new electronic suspension this weekend. It has mainly been tried in dry conditions so it was important to gather data in the wet. We have already found an advantage with the limited testing time we've had and plan to use it in Vallelunga where it was first tested six weeks ago. "
Race 1
1. Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS - 34'53.607
2. Andrew Pitt - Honda - AUS - 0'0.872
3. Jonathan Rea Honda - GBR - 0'4.846
4. Barry Veneman - Suzuki - NED - 0'5.066
5. Hudson Kennaugh - Yamaha - RSA - 0'8.604
6. Robbin Harms - Honda - DNK - 0'8.990
7. Joan Lascorz - Honda - ESP - 0'15.660
8. Didier Van Keymeulen - Suzuki - BEL - 0'16.674
9. Matthieu Lagrive - Honda - FRA - 0'17.081
10. Broc Parkes - Yamaha - AUS - 0'20.474 11. Gianluca Vizziello - Honda - ITA - 0'21.110
12. Eugene Laverty - Yamaha - GBR - 0'26.338 13. Mark Aitchinson - Triumph - AUS - 0'26.597
14. Katsuaki Fujiwara - Kawasaki - JPN - 0'29.104
15. Chris Martin - Kawasaki - GBR - 0'30.603
17. Massimo Roccoli - Yamaha - ITA - 0'39.505 Best Lap: Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS - 1'34.079
Rider Standings: 1. Andrew Pitt - Honda - AUS - 169pts
2. Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS - 137pts
3. Jonathan Rea - Honda - GBR - 133pts
4. Broc Parkes - Yamaha AUS - 119pts5. Craig Jones - Honda - GBR - 100pts
6. Fabien Foret - Yamaha - FRA - 97pts7. Joan Lascorz - Honda - ESP - 92pts
8. Barry Veneman - Suzuki - NED - 61pts
9. Robbin Harms - Honda - DNK - 60pts
10. Gianluca Nannelli - Honda - ITA - 51pts
11. Massimo Roccoli - Yamaha - ITA - 48pts12. Gianluca Vizziello - Honda - ITA - 46pts
13. Matthieu Lagrive - Honda - FRA - 43pts
14. Chris Walker - Kawasaki - GBR - 36pts
15. Vesa Kallio - Honda - FIN - 23pts
25. David Salom - Yamaha - ESP - 9pts
Manufacturer Standings: 1. Honda 240pts
2. Yamaha 162pts3. Suzuki 70pts
4. Triumph 61pts
5. Kawasaki 42pts
