SuperBike

Today’s races at the Donington Park Grand Prix circuit were won by John Reynolds and Chris Walker, allowing Reynolds, who was second in race two, to extend his lead at the top of the championship table.

Emmett rode to a solid sixth place in the first of the two 19-lap races around the sweeping curves of the 2.5-mile Leicestershire circuit. The Surrey-base rider, however, crashed unhurt at the Goddards hairpin on lap five of the second outing.

"I got the bike going again," said the 30-year-old, "and everything seemed OK apart from one very bent handlebar, so I had to pull in. I was happy with the VTR in race one though. The bike will be awesome when we can get some more punch out of corners because I was taking yards out of other riders going into them."

Emmett’s Harris Honda team-mate rode to two top ten finishes with tenth in race one and eighth in the second. He commented: "We gambled a bit on settings for the first race because of lack of time on the bike. But I enjoyed race two and had a good scrap with Michael Rutter."

Team manager, Lester Harris, was satisfied with his riders’ performances: "We’ve made some good progress with the whole package," he said. "I think we’ve learned more here than we did at Brands Hatch. Donington is a different circuit and it’s shown up different characteristics of the new bike, so we’re definitely moving forward."

Results (Donington Park, 2.5 miles – 19 laps)
Race one

Race two

Championship points after two of 12 rounds

Next round: Thruxton, Hampshire – 23-24 April

SuperSport

Jim Moodie took Castrol Honda’s second successive British Supersport Championship victory today by winning the second round race at Donington Park. Moodie’s team-mate, Kirk McCarthy, finished fifth after fighting his way from the very back of the 32-strong field.

On lap two the Pace Car emerged for two laps to allow marshalls to clear fuel from the track after a crash at Donington’s Esses chicane. Moodie inherited the lead under the Pace Car when race leader, Chris Vermeulen, who finished fourth, and McCarthy pulled into the pits.

"My clutch had been slipping," explained McCarthy, from Mickleham, Australia, who set the fastest lap of the race on lap 16. "There was no way it was going to last the race like that so we adjusted it. Starting again from the back was always going to be tough but I thought I’d just get as many points as I could."

Chris Vermeulen - "A couple of riders had pointed down at my bike, saying there was smoke," explained the 17-year-old Aussie. "I pulled into the pits to get it checked out but there didn’t seem to be anything wrong."  The teenager, who rejoined the race at the very back of the 32-strong field, continued: "I was pleased with my ride after that. We found some more power after Brands Hatch and I reckon I might have made the podium with one more lap."

Moodie surrendered his lead to fellow Honda CBR600 rider, Glen Richards, on lap six of the 19-lapper around Donington’s 2.5-mile Grand Prix circuit, but the Scot regained the advantage one lap later and was never headed.

"That was really hard work right to the end," said the 34-year-old Glaswegian. "We eliminated the front-end patter that we had in qualifying and everything worked real good. The track was cooler today, too, and that let me keep pushing the front."

SuperSport Results

Championship points after two of 12 SuperSport rounds:

SuperBike

Pole position for the two 19-lap races around Donington’s 2.5-mile GP circuit was grabbed by Steve Hislop riding a Yamaha. John Reynolds, who won the series opener at Brands Hatch two weeks ago, was second quickest. Neil Hogson and Chris Walker complete the front row.

Harris Honda rider, Sean Emmett, will start tomorrow’s two second-round British Superbike Championship races from the third row of the grid. Team-mate, Shane Byrne, was sixteenth fastest in today’s two timed qualifying sessions.

The Donington round represents a further development stage for the Harris Honda squad and its new Honda V-twin machines. The team has had little time for testing but is impressed with the SP-1’s handling and general performance.

Emmett commented: "It’s a little frustrating starting on the third row behind a bunch of guys I know I should be beating, but I accept that these are early days for the new Honda.

"We’ve had so little time on the bike," continued the 30-year-old from Surrey. "There’s still some more development to be done on the engine’s mid-range and that’s where we’re losing out at the moment. But the chassis is pretty much developed already."

Qualifying

SuperSport

Kirk McCarthy will start tomorrow’s second round British Supersport Championship race at Donington Park from pole position. Castrol Honda team-mate, Jim Moodie, was third fastest and will also start the race from the front row.

McCarthy and fellow Australian, Dean Thomas, set identical qualifying times of 1m38.021s this morning for tomorrow’s 19-lapper around Donington’s 2.5-mile GP circuit. The Castrol Honda rider gets the top slot, however, because of his faster time in the second timed session this afternoon. Australian teenager, Chris Vermeulen, also riding a Honda CBR600, completes the front row.

"I’m happy to be on the front row," said McCarthy, 31, winner of the Brands Hatch opener two weeks ago, "so pole is a good bonus. I set my fastest time on my spare bike this morning but I got to within three thousandths of that on the number one machine this afternoon. You could say they’re both working well!"

Moodie was also pleased with the performance of his Castrol Honda CBR600: "The bike’s absolutely spot-on apart from a little front end chatter when it’s tipped into a corner," said the 34-year-old Scot. "We should be able to sort that so I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow."

Chris Vermeulen’s team-mate, Glen Richards, makes it four Australians in the top five. He is joined on row two by Scott Smart, who was sixth fastest, and Belgian rider, Werner Daemen. Howard Whitby, second at Brands Hatch, rounds out the top eight.

Final qualifying times: