2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Six – Donington Park
Donington Park hosted the first ever race in WorldSBK history in 1988, and has now been completely resurfaced for the first time in more than 20 years in readiness for the summer chapter of the 2023 season, it will mark the first of three WorldSBK rounds scheduled for July.
All eyes will be on Alvaro Bautista, the current Championship leader with an impressive 298 points. Bautista will be eager to extend his lead and continue his dominant form at Donington Park, a track where Ducati has not won since 2011. The 2022 WorldSBK Champion made the most out of the three-week break after Misano to ride the Desmosedici GP at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” during a two-day test in Italy as a reward for his 2022 WorldSBK title success. Ducati do not have a great record of success at Donington as the last time the Bologna brand won at the track was in 2011 with Carlos Checa.
Alvaro Bautista
“Donington has always been our weak point in the Championship. The track has been resurfaced so we have to go there and understand the track conditions. The target is to try to get the same feeling I’ve had during the whole season because I feel really good on my Panigale V4 R. This is the target and I know if I can get the feeling with the track as well, we can be competitive. There’s no target. Every year is different, and we’ll go there just to do our best.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu, with just one win under his belt in the 2023 season, is aiming to get back on top. Having won five of the last six races at Donington Park, the Turkish sensation has to be one of the favourites.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu
“I have very good memories in the UK – my first podiums and then last year we won all three races with Yamaha! We will see what is possible this weekend, maybe with new asphalt we have more grip and there is a good chance to win – I hope. I need wins in Race 1 and Race 2, not just Superpole Race! It is more a ‘real’ win in the full race, I am just focused on this. We know Ducati will still be strong but I hope we are winning in Donington Park.”
Incredibly, six-time WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea has yet to secure a victory this year. Racing on familiar territory with his Kawasaki ZX-10RR, Rea will be determined to put an end to his winless streak and make a statement in front of his home crowd.
Jonathan Rea
“Donington is a track I have been looking forward to racing at for a while now. It is a special one in the season because it’s a home race, with lots of family and friends there. Growing up in the BSB paddock some of the same fans turn out now just like they did then, so you feel like you know everyone. It really helps that we have had good success there in the past. This time of year the weather should be good so I expect a cool weekend with a lot of fans there. It helps that we had a test last week, trying to improve the package of the bike. We had some positive results from that. Some things we can use straight away and some things we hope to see in the future. The Donington track itself is a real challenge to set the bike up for, so it is important that we are productive on Friday. The first two sectors are fast and flowing in nature but the last sector is really unique. You want an agile bike that handles well – but also one that is very stable and stops well in the last sector. On top of that, the track has been resurfaced completely. We need to keep an eye on what challenges that throws us, and then just put the weekend together like normal. The target is the podium and it would be amazing to come away from Donington with a good haul of points. Standing on the podium at your home race would be very special.”
Currently third in the Championship standings, Andrea Locatelli will be eager to overcome his previous struggles at Donington Park and secure a top 3 finish, with his last podium achieved at the Catalunya Round.
Andrea Locatelli
“It is great to be back in the UK, especially at Donington because it is an interesting track to ride! First and second sectors are really fast, then three and four is a little bit more technical: we have hard braking and no easy corners because we have two really slow corners at the end. It will also be interesting to see the circuit because it has new tarmac, for sure it will change the feeling and maybe a little bit the grip so we will see. If we can arrive ready with everything and find a good feeling to start, I think we can fight for a good position in Donington – it is a track where our bike is normally working very well. It’s my third time racing at this track now and I have a lot more experience with the R1, so I would like to finish more in front and challenge for the podium – it’s the target.”
Coming off the Misano weekend where he secured his fifth podium of the season, Michael Rinaldi will fight to get his first victory of 2023.
Michael Rinaldi
“I’m very happy to be back on track. It was quite a long break, and I’m eager to regain the feeling with my bike. I’m really looking forward to riding at Donington and testing the new asphalt. There were many bumps and undulations that the English riders were familiar with. Now, with the new surface and probably better grip, it could be an advantage for those ones who race on this circuit only during race weekends. I’m coming off a positive weekend at Misano, although I could have achieved more. But we are having good feelings and speed: we just need to reap the rewards of our work.”
Alex Lowes, a former British Superbike Champion, has taken four WorldSBK podium places at Donington and one Superpole qualifying ‘win’.
Alex Lowes
“It is a unique race weekend at Donington. We are now based not even ten minutes from the track. It is always nice to have some family and friends get to the event. And it’s great to race in front of the British crowd. Coming from BSB, I always feel a close connection with them. The track has been resurfaced so we need to check that on Friday, get a feel for it, as sometimes when a track is resurfaced it can be hard for tyre life. That’s something we need to consider. It is always a pleasure to race at home and I can’t wait to get started. Some of the stuff we tried in testing last week could help us. My plan is to fight for the podium places and that is what we are trying to achieve at our home race. I am really looking forward to it, aiming to enjoy the whole week and see how we get on.”
Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner will ride their Yamaha YZF-R1 machines for the first time at Donington this weekend, with Gardner making his first ever appearance on the British circuit.
Remy Gardner
“It’ll be a complete first time for me, I’ve never been to Donington. It looks like a very special track, an old school one, with a lot of history, I like it. We’ll try to quickly adapt to it, plus trying something new to improve our feeling and performance on the bike. I really can’t wait to be back on track after three weeks away, see you there!”
On the other side of the garage, Aegerter has the memories from last year, where he got a double win at Donington in his WorldSSP campaign, fresh in his mind. The GYTR GRT Yamaha pair are feeling ready to face the challenge of Donington Park, one of the most iconic tracks in the WorldSBK calendar.
Dominique Aegerter
“I’m happy to go back to England, I have good memories there. It was a long break for me; during that time I trained hard to be ready for the next rounds. I’m eager to jump back on my Yamaha R1 machine at Donington Park. I like the circuit, it’s an old school one, and we’ll work very hard to do a good performance.”
Team HRC and riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge have been kept busy with different activities following the Misano round. Vierge flew to Japan to complete a Suzuka 8 Hours test, while Lecuona took part in last weekend’s Assen MotoGP round, standing in for the injured Joan Mir.
Last year’s edition brought challenges for the two riders, with Lecuona struggling with some arm pump and Vierge returning to action after a crash at the previous round. This time around, both are fully fit and are therefore confident that they will be able to do more with respect to their last outing at Donington.
Xavi Vierge
“We return to racing after a small break between races, but this didn’t keep me away from riding as after Misano I attended a test in Suzuka that went well and then I trained at home as usual in order to remain fully fit. I’m looking forward to the coming weekend because last year I raced at Donington for the first time but although I loved the track on sight, I wasn’t able to enjoy it because I was returning from injury and so that meant I struggled. I’ve heard that the asphalt is new so I’m looking forward to working with my team again and keeping up with the good work we’ve been doing.”
Iker Lecuona
“I remember from last year that I really like the Donington track even though it’s a challenging one, especially for us. So we will see how it goes this year, also considering that the track has recently been resurfaced. It’s been quite a busy time since the Misano round, as first I focused on my rehab and then, having recovered fast, I competed in my second MotoGP race of the season. I want to thank Honda and everyone on the team once again because it was an amazing weekend that gives me added motivation to keep pushing to improve and achieve our targets.”
The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team has a special tradition for its home race at Donington Park. The 17,000-inhabitant town of nearby Guisborough is Shaun Muir’s hometown. The team’s headquarters was established in 2002 and has been developed there since.
Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director
“After a four-week break, we are now continuing with three race weekends within five weeks. We want to start this series of events at Donington Park, Imola, and Most in the best possible way. We have very good memories associated with Donington Park. It’s where we celebrated our first WorldSBK victory in 2012, and also after our factory comeback in 2019, we had successful outings at this circuit. The goal, of course, is to continue this trend. The track has been resurfaced, and in the initial practice sessions, we will see how it affects the handling and setup work. In any case, we are looking forward to exciting races at the historic Donington Park circuit and working hard to close in on the front.”
The Bonovo action BMW Racing Team aims to continue its momentum from Misano four weeks ago (ITA) at Donington Park. At Misano, Garrett Gerloff (USA) achieved his best result of the season so far in a main race, finishing eighth in race two. His team-mate Loris Baz (FRA) has used the break since Misano to train intensively and is confident of being 100 per cent fit again after the injury he suffered at Mandalika (IDN).
Garrett Gerloff
“I’m really looking forward to Donington Park this weekend. It’s a track where I had success in the past and so did BMW, so hopefully we can have a good weekend and find a setup quickly. It’s going to be slightly different because there’s new asphalt, but I think that’s good for us. We’ll see how it goes. I’m definitively looking forward to it.”
Loris Baz
“It’s been quite a long time since Misano, but Misano was the first race where I was feeling good on the bike and not riding in pain, so it’s definitely a big improvement for me to be able to ride like this. I had a good three, four weeks to train even more. I’m back at 100 % now, so I’m really looking forward to this round. I love the Donington track! I hope we have more luck than at Misano where we had some issues. I’m confident of finally ride pain-free and enjoying riding the bike. Let’s see if the new Donington surface brings us luck.”
A busy month of July sees two more rounds taking place before the traditional August summer break. The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola race weekend takes place between 14-16 July and the Autodrom Most hosts the Czech Round between 28-30 July.
World Superbike Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Alvaro Bautista | 298 |
2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 212 |
3 | Andrea Locatelli | 150 |
4 | Jonathan Rea | 129 |
5 | Axel Bassani | 126 |
6 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 99 |
7 | Dominique Aegerter | 88 |
8 | Xavi Vierge | 87 |
9 | Alex Lowes | 75 |
10 | Danilo Petrucci | 64 |
11 | Iker Lecuona | 64 |
12 | Remy Gardner | 59 |
13 | Garrett Gerloff | 51 |
14 | Philipp Oettl | 46 |
15 | Scott Redding | 41 |
16 | Michael Van Der Mark | 19 |
17 | Loris Baz | 13 |
18 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | 7 |
19 | Hafizh Syahrin | 7 |
20 | Bradley Ray | 5 |
21 | Tom Sykes | 4 |
22 | Ivo Miguel Lopes | 1 |
WorldSSP
Leading the World Supersport Championship charge is Nicolo Bulega, who has been in strong form with four pole positions, six wins, and a strong podium record. Bulega established himself as the rider to beat at Donington Park, a track where he has never won so far.
Second in the Championship standings with 161 points, Stefano Manzi will race for the first time with Yamaha at Donington Park. Building on his recent triumph in the previous Misano race, he aims to secure his third WorldSSP race victory, and progressively close in on Bulega in the overall standings.
MV Agusta’s Marcel Schroetter will race for the first time at Donington Park with World Supersport. The German Rookie, who has displayed consistent performance in 2023 achieving several top positions, is still aiming for his first win in the category.
Oli Bayliss, Tom Edwards and Luke Power are the Australians in the field and all have had a tough first half of the season. Bayliss and Edwards recently raced a European round at Most.
Tom Edwards
“It was great to get a few laps in at Most. We’ve got a WorldSSP race coming up there at the end of next month, so all the time we can get there is valuable. Unfortunately, my bike had a little issue towards the end, and I didn’t want to push it, so I pulled in early. I’m excited about going to Donington. There’s an advantage in not many people having of tested there this year, so I think the competition is open for anyone to make an impact. We’re getting to that point in the season that the team and I are really jelling well together. We’re improving every week and ready to start seeing results. It’s good to have spent time on a bike last weekend. It gets me and the team into a good flow with it. Keen to see how the weekend unfolds.”
World Supersport Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Nicolo Bulega | 197 |
2 | Stefano Manzi | 161 |
3 | Marcel Schroetter | 148 |
4 | Federico Caricasulo | 127 |
5 | Niki Tuuli | 88 |
6 | Bahattin Sofuoglu | 73 |
7 | Glenn Van Straalen | 72 |
8 | Jorge Navarro | 68 |
9 | Valentin Debise | 65 |
10 | Can Oncu | 63 |
11 | Nicholas Spinelli | 57 |
12 | Raffaele De Rosa | 39 |
13 | Adrian Huertas | 35 |
14 | John Mcphee | 31 |
15 | Oliver Bayliss | 26 |
16 | Yari Montella | 24 |
17 | Simone Corsi | 23 |
18 | Lucas Mahias | 16 |
19 | Tom Booth-Amos | 16 |
20 | Tarran Mackenzie | 15 |
21 | Anupab Sarmoon | 14 |
22 | Tom Edwards | 11 |
23 | Adam Norrodin | 9 |
24 | Andrea Mantovani | 9 |
25 | Harry Truelove | 5 |
26 | Apiwath Wongthananon | 4 |
27 | Marco Bussolotti | 2 |
28 | Federico Fuligni | 1 |
29 | Adrian Fernandez Gonzalez | 1 |
WorldSBK Donington Schedule
(AEST)
Time | Class | Event |
Friday | ||
1800 | R3 bLU cRU Cup | FP1 |
1930 | WorldSBK | FP1 |
2025 | WorldSSP | FP1 |
2230 | R3 bLU cRU Cup | Superpole |
0000 (Sat) | WorldSBK | FP2 |
0100 (Sat) | WorldSSP | FP2 |
Saturday | ||
1800 | WorldSBK | FP3 |
1925 | WorldSSP | Superpole |
2010 | WorldSBK | Superpole |
2045 | R3 bLU cRU Cup | R1 |
2300 | WorldSBK | R1 |
0015 (Sun) | WorldSSP | R1 |
0115 (Sun) | R3 bLU cRU Cup | R2 |
Sunday | ||
1900 | WorldSBK | WUP |
1925 | WorldSSP | WUP |
2200 | WorldSBK | SPRace |
2330 | WorldSSP | R2 |
0100 | WorldSBK | R2 |
2023 FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar | ||||
Date | Circuit | WSBK | WSSP600 | WSSP300 |
30 Jun-02 Jul | Donington Park | X | X | |
14-16 Jul | Imola | X | X | X |
28-30 Jul | Autodrom Most | X | X | X |
8-10 Sep | Magny-Cours | X | X | X |
22-24 Sep | Aragón | X | X | X |
29-Sep-01 Oct | Algarve | X | X | X |
13-15 Oct | San Juan Villicum | X | X |