Atrocious weather conditions plagued the first two days of the Donington Park meeting, with every single WSB session held in wet conditions. Any drying track surfaces were soon covered by the waves of rain that came in day and night. A wet Superpole - 12 laps for each rider over a 50-minute session - was taken by Troy Bayliss on his Ducati, making this his sixth pre-race win of the year. That earned him the prize of a car for the most poles in the season. Alongside him on the front row were Kiyonari, Checa and Xaus, but the many wildcard riders were just behind, ready to pounce. James Ellison (Honda) headed up Max Biaggi, with Tom Sykes (Suzuki) up on a multiple crasher, Troy Corser.
Other top riders struggled in the conditions, with the only factory Suzuki in Superpole belonging to Max Neukirchner.
WSB
Race 1:
AIR HUMIDITY: 81%
AIR TEMPERATURE: 16°C
TRACK CONDITION: Dry
TRACK TEMPERATURE: 16°C
The first race was the first chance that the riders had had to use dry choices in anger and therefore Diablo Superbike tyres were fitted, but on machine settings that relied on a lot of educated guesswork, due to the consistently wet practice and warm-up sessions. Kiyonari took the lead, but he crashed on lap two as he pushed too hard in front of Bayliss. Tom Sykes made another wildcard impact, leading Bayliss by over three seconds until a slippery patch at Coppice indicated the possible presence of an oil spill. After two or three riders went down the red flags appeared. On the restart, Bayliss went into the lead and controlled the gap back to Sykes until more rain brought out a final red flag, with Troy taking his first ever win at Donington. Sykes was a fine second, but there was controversy when Ruben Xaus was ruled out of third place when he fell on the slowing down lap. The spare podium spot was thus awarded to Max Biaggi.
Race 1 Standings:
1. Bayliss - Ducati Xerox Team - Ducati 1098 F08 - 29'55.384
2. Sykes - Rizla Suzuki - Suzuki GSX-R1000 k - 29'56.650
3. Biaggi - Sterilgarda Go Eleven - Ducati 1098 RS 08 - 30'24.020
4. Lavilla - Ventaxia VK Honda - Honda CBR1000RR - 30'28.950
5. Kagayama - Team Suzuki Alstare - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - 30'31.350
Race 2:
AIR HUMIDITY: 70%
AIR TEMPERATURE: 20°C
TRACK CONDITION: Wet
TRACK TEMPERATURE: 18°C
An intense rain shower right at the scheduled start of race two, with everyone having already fitted slick tyres, saw full wets brought into play once more, and the first few laps were conducted in extraordinarily heavy rain. The track stayed wet throughout, and that allowed Kiyonari to lead every lap and take his much-desired race win. Local wild card rider Cal Crutchlow showed that the single make tyre rules in WSB and BSB both work well by finishing a close second, with Troy Corser a heroic third, after suffering six crashes in the wet conditions. Bayliss was a non-finisher, having gone off at high speed at Schwantz Curve. He nonetheless extended his championship lead to 101 points.
Race 2 Standings:
1. Kiyonari - Hannspree Ten Kate Honda - Honda CBR1000RR - 40'26.508
2. Crutchlow - HM Plant Honda - Honda CBR1000RR - 40'28.769
3. Corser - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB - Yamaha YZF-R1 - 40'36.235
4. Ellison - Hydrex Bike Animal Honda - Honda CBR1000RR - 40'46.735
5. Fabrizio - Ducati Xerox Team - Ducati 1098 F08 - 40'53.983
Championship Standings:
1. T Bayliss (AUS) 359pts
2. T Corser (AUS) 258pts
3. M Neukirchner (GER) 254pts
4. C Checa (ESP) 240pts
5. N Haga (JPN) 230pts
6. F Nieto (ESP) 192pts
7. M Biaggi (ITA) 192pts
8. R Kiyonari (JPN) 190pts
9. M Fabrizio (ITA) 172pts
10. R Xaus (ESP) 156pts
World Supersport
AIR HUMIDITY: 81%
AIR TEMPERATURE: 16°C
TRACK CONDITION: Dry
TRACK TEMPERATURE: 16°C
Like the Superbike riders, the Supersport men had no real taste of dry weather conditions until the race itself, so settings were something of an issue for some, but not the leading riders. Three Hondas and one Suzuki were in stunning form considering the lack of set-up time, as Barry Veneman joined a Honda trio on a dry track. Veneman was to fade later in the race, leaving the final fight between an eventually fading Rea, second place rider Andrew Pitt and race winner Josh Brookes. The pace was only just outside the lap record despite the lack of set-up time, with Brookes setting the best lap on the 18th lap, proving how well his Pirelli tyres handled this tough challenge from the first lap to the last. Pitt is still the leader overall, 32 points up on Brookes.
Race Standings:
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
Championship Standings:
1. Andrew Pitt - Honda - AUS - 169pts
2. Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS - 137pts
3. Jonathan Rea - Honda - GBR - 133pts
4. Broc Parkes - Yamaha AUS - 119pts
5. Craig Jones - Honda - GBR - 100pts
6. Fabien Foret - Yamaha - FRA - 97pts
7. Joan Lascorz - Honda - ESP - 92pts
8. Barry Veneman - Suzuki - NED - 61pts
9. Robbin Harms - Honda - DNK - 60pts
10. Gianluca Nannelli - Honda - ITA - 51pts
Superstock 1000
AIR HUMIDITY: 85%
AIR TEMPERATURE: 16°C
TRACK CONDITION: Wet
TRACK TEMPERATURE :15°C
On a drying track most of the Superstock 1000 class riders opted for a mix of wets but there was the occasional brave pilot who gambled on regular dry choice of the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC2.
The first lap claimed a predictably high number of fallers in such tricky conditions, but as the track dried the times came down and the race proved to be between Xavier Simeon and leader Alessandro Polita. Simeon pushed on past Polita to run out an eventual clear winner, with Polita equally safely ahead of Davide Giugliano, who had Brendan Roberts right behind him in fourth. Berger was overhauled in the final lap by local wildcard John Kirkham who, riding on a set-up meant for drier conditions, had started from the front row. He rallied strongly after slipping back and fought back to fifth. With Berger sixth the championship fight intensified, with Roberts, Simeon, Berger and Polita now only separated by eight points.
Race Standings:
1. 19 Simeon X. (BEL) Suzuki GSX-R1000 - 21'30.092 (134,714 kph)
2. 53 Polita A. (ITA) Ducati 1098R - 16.109
3. 34 Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K8 - 34.318
4. 155 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R - 37.319
5. 10 Kirkham J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF-R1 - 44.199
Championship Standings:
1. Roberts - Ducati 1098R - Ducati Xerox Junior Team - 122pts
2. Xavi Simeon - Suzuki GSX-R 1000 - Alstare Suzuki - 120pts
3. Berger - Honda CBR 1000RR - Hannspree IDS Ten Kate - 119pts
4. Polita - Ducati 1098R - Sterilgarda Go Eleven - 114pts
5. Pirro - Yamaha YZF R1 - Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni - 83pts
Superstock 600
AIR HUMIDITY: 78%
AIR TEMPERATURE: 18°C
TRACK CONDITION: Wet
TRACK TEMPERATURE: 16°C
The Superstock 600 class race, once more held in rainy conditions, saw championship leader Loris Baz crash out then remount, but the big winner on the day was Marco Bussolotti, who scored the win from local rider, and series regular, Alex Lowes. Gino Rea and Dan Linfoot made it three British riders in the top four in the UK, but it was the Italian National anthem that was played for Bussolotti. Patrick Vostarek was fifth, and with Baz 12th, the championship table now has the French rider 25 points ahead of Vostarek, and Bussolotti third.
Race Standings:
1. Bussolotti - Yamaha YZF R6 - Yamaha Motor Italia J. T. - 18’11.205
2. Lowes - Kawasaki ZX-6R - O Six Kawasaki Supportec - +5.559
3. Rea - Yamaha YZF R6 - Team StoneBaker - +11.227
4 .Linfoot - Yamaha YZF R6 - Team StoneBaker - +11.298
5. Vostàrek - Honda CBR600RR - Intermoto Czech - +29.434
Championship Standings:
1. Baz - Yamaha YZF R6YZF - Yamaha Junior Team - 146pts
2. Vostarek - Honda CBR600RR - Intermoto Czech - 121pts
3. Bussolotti - Yamaha YZF R6 - Yamaha Motor Italia J. T. - 106pts
4. Rea - Yamaha YZF R6 - Team StoneBaker - 93pts
5. Linfoot - Yamaha YZF R6 - Team StoneBaker - 87pts
