Ryde reigns at Donington as BSB support classes deliver photo finishes and new-class intrigue

2026 British Superbike Championship

Round Two – Donington Park

Kyle Ryde left Donington Park with the ZYN British Superbike Championship lead extended after a Sunday double at his home round, but the second round of the 2026 BSB season had far more going on than the headline Superbike fight. Scott Redding struck first on Saturday, Max Cook completed a breakthrough treble podium weekend, Ben Currie gave the Aussie contingent a Supersport win in a 0.040-second drag to the line, and the Sportbike classes delivered some of the tightest finishes of the meeting.

ZYN Superbike

Kyle Ryde underlined his early-season authority at Donington Park, the reigning British Superbike Champion responding to Scott Redding’s Saturday victory with a Sunday double to leave the second round of the ZYN British Superbike Championship with an increased points lead and the Carole Nash King of Donington crown.

Redding’s first victory of the season for Hager PBM Racing gave Saturday’s opener a different winner, but Ryde’s answer was emphatic. The Nitrous Coin / Nitrous Competitions Racing Ducati rider won both Sunday races, set a new race lap record in the 12-lap sprint, and held off sustained pressure from Redding and Max Cook in the longer finale.

Cook was again one of the stories of the weekend. The AJN Steelstock bimota rider translated his Donington test pace into a front-row start and three podiums, finishing second in Race One and third in both Sunday races.

Bradley Ray was not quite able to run with the podium trio, but his pair of fourths on Sunday kept the McAMS Yamaha rider firmly in the championship top four, while Leon Haslam continued his strong start to the season with fourth, fifth and fifth across the three races.

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Superbike Qualifying

Donington qualifying turned into a proper lap-record shootout. Ryde, Cook and Redding all took turns at or near the top of the Q2 order, with Redding briefly putting Hager PBM Racing on provisional pole before Ryde’s final run restored the Ducati number one to the head of the times.

Ryde’s 1m26.123s was the fastest BSB lap ever recorded around Donington Park, 0.148s clear of Cook, with Redding another 0.059s further back in third. The depth of the pace was underlined by the fact that the top eight riders all went beneath the previous BSB best lap marker at the circuit, Glenn Irwin’s 1m26.772s in eighth still quick enough to sneak under the old record.

Haslam headed the second row from Danny Kent and Storm Stacey, while Ray, Glenn Irwin, Rory Skinner and Andrew Irwin completed the top ten. Ryan Vickers and Christian Iddon were 11th and 12th, while Lee Jackson progressed through Q1 before qualifying 14th for DAO Racing Honda. Josh Brookes missed Q2 by only 0.041s after posting a 1m27.477s in Q1, leaving the Australian 16th on the Race One grid. Jason O’Halloran qualified 20th for Honda Racing UK.

Cook also showed why the Bimota was a factor in the fight, topping the Q2 intermediate-three speed trap at 169.0 mph, ahead of Glenn Irwin and Andrew Irwin, with Ryde fourth in that measure at 167.3 mph. That straight-line strength did not win Cook the pole, but it helped explain why he remained a genuine threat once the lights went out.

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Superbike Race One

Cook made the start that he needed in Saturday’s opener, leading Ryde, Kent and Redding through the early laps. The AJN Steelstock bimota rider controlled the front of the race for the opening 13 laps, but he could never stretch the lead beyond a few tenths. Ryde remained close enough to keep the pressure applied, while Redding worked his way up to third by lap four and then shadowed the lead pair as the race settled into a three-rider contest.

By lap 10 the trio had cleared away from the chasing pack, with the battle for fourth becoming a separate contest headed by Haslam, Iddon, Ray, Skinner, Stacey and Kent. The contrast at the front was notable: Cook had track position and Bimota speed, Ryde looked comfortable under brakes and over a lap, and Redding was at his best once the race moved into its decisive phase.

The key shift came on lap 14. Cook had led every lap to that point, but Ryde found a way through and took over at the front. Redding followed the move and then stalked the defending champion through the final stages as the rain flags began to appear.

Redding made his move at the Old Hairpin on lap 19, just as conditions were becoming more uncertain. Ryde then ran wide at the Melbourne Loop, which allowed Cook back through into second. As the leading trio crossed the line the rain intensified, the red flag came out, and Redding was confirmed as the winner.

The margin was only 0.846s to Cook, with Ryde third at 2.464s after that late moment. Haslam was fourth, one lap down after the timing of the red flag and classification, with Iddon fifth, Skinner sixth, Ray seventh, Stacey eighth, Kent ninth and Jackson tenth.

For DAO Racing Honda, Jackson’s tenth also made him the top Honda in the opener. Brookes recovered from a poor first lap that had dropped him to 17th, working his way back to 11th and finishing only 0.464s behind his team-mate. O’Halloran moved forward from 20th to 15th to bank a point.

Redding’s fastest lap of 1m26.882s was also the fastest lap of the race, but the Race One story was as much about execution as pace. Cook had led the bulk of it, Ryde had looked set to steal it, but Redding judged the final weather-compromised moments best.

Superbike Race One

Superbike Race Two

Sunday’s first race was a 12-lap sprint, and Redding initially looked ready to pick up where he had left off. He led the opening lap from Cook, Ryde, Iddon and Ray, but Ryde was not going to wait around in the short-format contest.

By lap three, Ryde had moved to second, diving past Cook at Redgate. Redding still led at that stage, but the gap was minimal and the lap times were already into record territory. Ryde’s second lap of 1m26.317s became a new race lap record, and it was also the fastest lap of the race.

The decisive moment came on lap five. Redding made a small error at Goddards, and Ryde needed no second invitation. He took the lead and then began to apply just enough pressure to make Redding defend with lap time rather than attack with passing moves.

At half distance the margin was still less than a second, but Ryde gradually turned that into a more controlled advantage. He crossed the line 1.870s clear of Redding, with Cook third at 3.784s. Ray was fourth, Haslam fifth, Skinner sixth, Iddon seventh, Glenn Irwin eighth, Stacey ninth and Kent tenth.

The sprint also exposed the frustration inside the DAO Honda garage. Jackson again finished as the top Honda, taking 11th after a race-long fight with Vickers, but Brookes was forced to retire. The Australian had made a strong start and was in the group fighting around the edge of the top ten before a mechanical problem sent him backwards. He tried to ride around the issue, but was eventually forced out on lap nine. That retirement would have a major flow-on effect for his Race Three grid position.

O’Halloran finished 16th, just outside the points, after starting from the same position.

Superbike Race Two

Superbike Race Three

The final race of the weekend was the one that confirmed Ryde’s authority. This time he made the start, leading Cook, Redding, Ray, Iddon and Haslam through the opening lap. Cook and Redding stayed close, and by lap four the top three were covered by just half a second, with Iddon, Ray, Haslam, Skinner, Kent and Glenn Irwin all still in touch.

Then the race was interrupted. The safety car was deployed after Charlie Nesbitt crashed at Starkeys Bridge, compressing the field and removing the small margin Ryde had built. The restart came at the end of lap seven, and Redding immediately went on the attack. By lap eight he had moved past Cook into second and was only three-tenths behind Ryde.

From there, the race became a test of Ryde’s ability to absorb pressure. Redding was close enough to keep the champion honest, particularly through the middle phase, while Cook held third and Ray sat close enough in fourth to punish any mistake from the podium group.

Ryde’s response was controlled. He did not break Redding immediately, but he kept the Ducati clean through the key braking zones and then produced his best lap when it mattered. His fastest lap of 1m27.011s came on lap 18, stretching the gap to just over a second and finally giving him breathing space.

Redding kept pushing but could not get back into passing range, finishing 1.919s behind. Cook completed a strong weekend with another third, 5.273s from the win, while Ray was fourth and Haslam fifth. Glenn Irwin took sixth, ahead of Skinner, Vickers, Brookes and Kent.

The race was less kind to several others. Fraser Rogers fell at Redgate on the opening lap, Andrew Irwin and Joe Talbot were involved in a Melbourne Hairpin incident, Stacey stopped early with a technical issue, and Jackson and Iddon both crashed out at the Old Hairpin after a coming together soon after the restart.

Brookes’ ninth was one of the more substantial recovery rides of the race. Starting 22nd after his Race Two retirement, he was 19th at the end of the opening lap, 14th by lap four, and inside the top ten by half race distance. His 1m27.991s best lap was close to the pace of the back end of the lead group, and his Race Three speed through intermediate three peaked at 168.6 mph, the equal sixth-best figure in the race. That gave the Australian his best result of the season so far, even if he remained realistic about where the package stands.

Brookes said the weekend finished on a positive note, but stressed that the bigger picture was still one of development rather than celebration.

“For me, I’ve been all weekend chasing a lap time,” Brookes said. “I haven’t been thinking so much about my race position, I’ve been thinking more about what we can do with the bike to improve the package.

“The last race, even though I had a positive finish and it was a positive race, my lap times were strong and I was moving through the pack and I’m staying out of trouble. Ultimately, if you just look at the weekend as a whole, we still have an issue with the bike, and it’s not just us.”

O’Halloran also moved forward in Race Three, climbing from 18th on the grid to 12th, just behind Luke Hedger and only 0.103s away from 11th at the flag.

Superbike Race Three

Superbike Championship

Ryde now leads the championship on 104 points, 19 clear of Redding, who moved into second on 85. Haslam is third on 82, ahead of Ray on 75 and Cook on 73. Skinner sits sixth on 56, with Stacey, Iddon, Glenn Irwin and Vickers completing the top ten.

Kyle Ryde

“It’s been a great weekend. We made the bike a lot better this morning for warm up and from then on we had two really good races, so it’s been a great day. It was very difficult in the last race with Scott right up my chuff for 16, 17 laps! I was hoping that Scott or Max were burning more tyre than me in the first sector, while trying to catch me back up, because I know they were better than me there. Once I saw the board with three or four laps to go, I just got my head down and tried to do my fastest laps, which I did. And that won me the race. There was a lot going on in that last race, including the Safety Car, and we all dealt with that very well. It has been a great weekend for me, Scott and Max – next it’s Knockhill!”

The King of Donington classification was tighter than the trophy presentation suggested. Ryde and Redding both finished the weekend on 50 points across the three races, but Ryde took the crown on the fastest-lap tie-break thanks to that 1m26.317s lap record in Race Two.

For the Australians, Brookes leaves Donington 14th in the championship on 19 points, while O’Halloran is 15th on 12. Both have ground to make up, but Brookes’ Race Three charge at least gives DAO Racing Honda something positive to take into the break, during which the team’s immediate attention turns to the Isle of Man TT.

Josh Brookes

“I can agree that this weekend has finished on a positive. For me, I’ve been all weekend chasing a lap time. I haven’t been thinking so much about my race position, I’ve been thinking more about what we can do with the bike to improve the package. It all stems back to what lap time you can do. The first race we suffered because of the lap time from qualifying but we made good progress in the race. I had a good grid position for the sprint race, but then we had an engine failure. The last race, even though I had a positive finish and it was a positive race, my lap times were strong and I was moving through the pack and I’m staying out of trouble. Ultimately, if you just look at the weekend as a whole, we still have an issue, you know, with the bike, and it’s not just us. It’s hard to really say what the correct emotion is at the moment, you know, because you want to be proud of what you’ve just achieved, but it’s so far from where I feel we should actually be. That’s a wrap for BSB for a little while, we go over the Isle of Man TT for a few weeks and do our best there, it give us some time regroup, reflect and see what we can do when we return to action at Knockhill.”

The British Superbike Championship resumes at Knockhill over the June 19-21 weekend

Superbike Championship Points

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Quattro British Supersport

Luke Stapleford left Donington Park with his Quattro Group British Supersport Championship lead extended after a second and a win across the weekend, but Australian Ben Currie also gave MCNews.com.au readers plenty to smile about, stealing Saturday’s Sprint Race victory in a photo finish before salvaging fourth in Sunday’s Feature after a jump-start penalty.

Five-time champion Jack Kennedy had set the tone in qualifying, putting the Honda Racing UK machine on pole with a 1m30.115s. Stapleford was only 0.132s adrift on the Scars-Racing Ducati, while Currie completed the front row for McAMS Yamaha, just 0.235s off pole and on the same time as Carter Brown, who headed row two. Harry Truelove rounded out the top five, with Dean Harrison sixth and Australian Jack Mahaffy seventh on the Astro-JJR HIPPO Suzuki.

Cam Swain again showed strong Cup class pace, qualifying 11th outright and best of the Cup runners, while Billy McConnell was 13th and Max Wadsworth 14th for Macadam Triumph Factory Racing.

Supersport Race One (Sprint)

Currie made the most of his front-row start in Saturday’s 12-lap Sprint, leading the early stages as Kennedy dropped back from pole and Truelove slotted in behind his McAMS Yamaha team-mate. After a brief early safety-car period, Truelove was shown as leader on lap three, but the momentum soon swung toward Stapleford.

By lap four, Stapleford had put the Ducati to the front, clearing the Yamaha pair and trying to dictate the race from there. Currie, however, refused to let him escape. The Australian stayed within striking distance throughout, while Truelove held third and Kennedy worked to recover ground after the start had cost him track position.

Behind them, Mahaffy was in the thick of the front group early before a long-lap penalty dropped him back. McConnell made the best of a fourth-row start and climbed into the battle with the Honda Racing UK pairing, eventually putting himself in the top-six mix.

The win came down to the final sector. Stapleford still led on the last lap, but a small error through the Esses gave Currie the invitation he needed. Currie rode around the outside into the Melbourne Loop, gained the inside line for Goddards and then beat Stapleford to the line by just 0.040s.

Truelove completed the podium, 1.624s back, with Kennedy fourth and Harrison fifth. McConnell was a strong sixth, ahead of Lucas Brown, Corey Tinker, Mahaffy and Swain. Swain’s tenth outright also sealed the Cup class win, while Currie’s 1m30.231s on lap 11 stood as the fastest lap of the race.

Supersport Race One (Sprint)

Supersport Race Two (Feature)

Sunday’s 17-lap Feature Race looked set to be Currie’s next major opportunity, but his race became complicated before it had properly begun. Starting from pole, the Australian was judged to have jumped the start and was handed a double long-lap penalty.

Truelove led the opening lap from Kennedy, Stapleford and Currie, before Stapleford moved back through and took control by the end of lap two. Currie’s penalties then dropped him back into recovery mode, while Truelove’s race ended at the start of lap four, removing one of the early podium threats.

That left Stapleford and Kennedy to fight it out up front, and the pair stayed locked together for the bulk of the race. Kennedy’s Honda looked strong enough to keep the pressure on, and the Irishman eventually made his move on lap 14, taking the lead and then setting the fastest lap of the race with a 1m30.300s.

Stapleford did not let him get away. The Ducati rider stayed close, then repassed on the penultimate lap and defended cleanly to the flag. The winning margin was only 0.290s, giving Stapleford the Feature Race victory and a larger championship buffer.

Dean Harrison completed the podium in third, 8.283s from the win, a significant result for the road-racing standout as he claimed his first British Supersport podium. Currie’s recovery ride brought him back to fourth, limiting the damage after the penalty, while Carter Brown completed the top five.

Wadsworth was one of the stronger Sunday movers, climbing from 13th on the grid to sixth for Macadam Triumph. McConnell had also been well placed and running around the top five before an electrical issue forced him out in the final stages, denying him what looked likely to be another solid points haul.

McConnell’s Donington appearance was also his last with the Macadam Triumph squad before handing the seat over at Knockhill.

“My time with the team has come to an end and I’ll be passing the reins over to Oli at Knockhill,” McConnell said. “Today was good fun, we were pushing and I think we could have finished strong in fifth position had it not been for the issue.”

Mahaffy showed front-running pace again but did not finish the Feature, retiring after nine laps, while Swain completed another excellent weekend in the Cup ranks. The Australian finished tenth outright and again won the Cup class, with the amended results listing Adam Hartgrove and Keo Walker as the next Cup finishers after James Alderson was disqualified for an unauthorised map.

Supersport Race Two (Feature)

Supersport Championship

Stapleford now leads the championship on 97 points, 13 clear of Kennedy on 84, with Currie only one further point back on 83.

Luke Stapleford

“I thought we would have had more pace this weekend so the two races were pretty tough and I really had to dig deep and push hard. The lads have worked so hard this weekend to get things changed and up to speed and I’m very grateful for all their work. If that is a bad weekend with a 2nd and win then I’m happy. It didn’t come easy and I left the door open a bit in race one and wasn’t prepared to do that in the main race so I made sure I was covering my lines. We’ve extended our lead in the Championship now and that is what its all about, the bigger picture and we will keep making progress as we move forwards. Also, a big Happy Birthday to the boss, Dale – that was for you! Have a good one on the Isle of Man guys.”

Harrison is fourth on 72, while Mahaffy remains fifth overall on 38 despite his Feature Race DNF.

Further back, Wadsworth’s strong Sunday moved him to 31 points, equal with Corey Tinker, while McConnell sits tenth on 28.

Billy McConnell – Macadam Triumph Factory Racing

“My time with the team has come to an end and I’ll be passing the reins over to Oli (Bayliss) at Knockhill. A huge thanks to the team and to Triumph for the opportunity and getting me back out on a bike. I’ve really enjoyed my time with the Macadam team and being back in the Supersport class. Today was good fun, we were pushing and I think we could have finished strong in fifth position had it not been for the issue.”

Cam Swain is 15th outright on 16 points and has been the standout Cup class performer of the season so far.

The next round of the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship will be held at Knockhill on June 19-21.

Supersport Championship Points

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Pirelli National Superstock

David Allingham continued his perfect start to the Pirelli National Superstock Championship season at Donington Park, backing up his Oulton Park victory with a second straight win after a rain-hit Sunday race was turned into a seven-lap dash.

The SMS / Nicholl Oil BMW rider had already stamped himself as the rider to beat in qualifying, stealing pole late in a wet Saturday session. Lewis Rollo had looked on course to take top spot for Motorrad Central Edinburgh by MLav Racing, but Allingham’s final lap of 1m40.179s put him at the head of the grid, 0.119s clear of Rollo according to the official classification.

Luke Mossey qualified third for Milenco by Padgetts Motorcycles, ahead of Declan Connell, Ben Luxton, Eemeli Lahti, Simon Reid, Scott Swann, Matt Truelove and Blaze Baker.

That qualifying order would only tell part of the Sunday story.

The original 15-lap Superstock race was stopped on lap six as rain began to fall, before being declared wet and restarted over seven laps with two warm-up laps. The restart added a proper tyre-choice twist, with around half the pack heading in to change to wet tyres after the first warm-up lap, while Allingham and several of the front runners stayed on dry rubber.

For a lap or two it looked as though the wet-shod riders might have an edge, but the circuit began to come back towards the dry-tyre runners and the race quickly turned into a four-way scrap between Allingham, Connell, Truelove and Reid.

Truelove led the opening lap from Allingham, Connell and Reid, before Connell put the Rapid Honda with Drivelife machine to the front and led across the line at the end of laps two, three and four. Allingham, however, stayed close enough to avoid being dragged into the chaos behind, then moved to the front on lap five and held the advantage to the flag.

Behind him, the last lap was busy. Connell and Truelove traded second, while Reid closed in quickly and made his move on Connell at the Melbourne Loop to snatch the final podium position. Reid’s charge was underlined by the fastest lap of the race, a 1m30.611s on the final lap, but Allingham had just enough in hand up front.

Allingham crossed the line 0.488s clear of Truelove, with Reid third at 0.749s. Connell was fourth, only 1.009s from the win, while Mossey completed the top five.

Ash Barnes came home sixth, ahead of Blaze Baker and Ryan Campion, while Ash Beech and Thomas O’Grady were the biggest top-ten movers. Beech climbed from 23rd on the restart grid to ninth, with O’Grady rising from 24th to tenth.

Rollo’s weekend unravelled after qualifying second. He restarted fifth but retired after five laps, a costly non-score that leaves him fifth in the championship rather than tucked in behind Allingham and Mossey.

Eemeli Lahti also slipped back after restarting from the front row, eventually finishing 22nd, while Kiwi Mitch Rees had a difficult afternoon. Rees had qualified 14th in the wet Saturday session, but after the red flag and restart sequence he was left 26th on the grid for the seven-lap dash and finished 23rd.

The result leaves Allingham unbeaten after the first two Superstock races of the season, with a perfect 50 points. Mossey sits second on 38, Truelove third on 36, Connell fourth on 28, with Rollo and Reid tied on 20 points behind them.

The class now heads to Knockhill next month, where Allingham will try to keep his perfect start alive.

Superstock Race One

Superstock Championship Points

 

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Pirelli British Sportbike

The Pirelli British Sportbike Championship is still young, but Donington Park gave the new-generation middleweight class one of its most compelling showcases yet, with Aprilia, Triumph, Suzuki, CFMOTO and Kawasaki all playing visible roles across the front of the field.

The category is particularly interesting from a machinery perspective. MSVR notes the class was first introduced in 2024 and runs eligible machines such as the Yamaha R7, Aprilia RS660 and Kawasaki Ninja 650, with a Mectronik ECU platform, BoP formula and slick tyres, while BSB’s own class-evolution notes list Aprilia, CF Moto, Kawasaki, Kove, Suzuki, Triumph and Yamaha as brands covered by the 95 hp performance-equivalence concept.

At Donington, the official timing sheets listed a 45-bike entry, with Aprilia, Suzuki, Triumph, CFMOTO, Kawasaki and Yamaha represented. The specific model names are not shown on the timing sheets, but in broad Sportbike terms that means machinery such as the Aprilia RS 660, Triumph Daytona 660, Suzuki GSX-8R, Yamaha R7, Kawasaki Ninja 650-type platform and CFMOTO 675SR-R are central to the class story. BSB has specifically identified Davidson’s 2026 mount as an Aprilia RS660, while wider Sportbike material also links the Daytona 660, GSX-8R and CFMOTO 675SR-R to the same emerging category.

Qualifying

Alfie Davidson continued to set the early benchmark on Saturday morning, putting the Aprilia IN Competition Racing machine on pole with a 1m34.817s. Edmund Best was a strong second for Syncirrus Motorsport Kawasaki, 0.462s behind, while Harley McCabe made it two Aprilias on the front row with third for Fibre Tec Aprilia by MLav Racing.

Carl Harris was fourth on the ROKiT Rookies Suzuki, ahead of Kieran Kent on the BlueMotion Racing Aprilia and Zak Shelton on the XMT Racing Triumph. Cameron Dawson qualified seventh on the Powerslide Suzuki, with Daniel Goodman eighth on another Fibre Tec Aprilia, Harrison Mackay ninth on the Armada SC31 Aprilia and Adon Davie tenth on the Moto 12 CFMOTO.

That spread mattered. The top ten featured Aprilia, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph and CFMOTO, and the first six were covered by 0.765s. Australian Brodie Gawith qualified 11th on the Powerslide Suzuki, one place behind Davie and just over a second from pole.

Race One

Harris made the best launch in the opening 12-lap race, but Davidson recovered quickly after dropping to third and was already back in charge by the end of the opening lap. From there, however, it was not a simple lights-to-flag job.

Shelton was the main threat. The Triumph rider came through the pack quickly, moved into second by lap five and then hit the front a lap later. Davidson reclaimed the lead soon afterwards, only for McCabe to enter the fight and take over at the head of the race on lap seven.

Davidson responded on lap eight and then managed the final phase, but the front group never strung out. Shelton stayed close enough to keep the Aprilia rider honest, McCabe remained in the podium contest, and Harris continued to show that the Suzuki had genuine pace rather than just a fast start.

Davidson took the win by 0.405s from Shelton, with McCabe third only 0.534s from victory. Harris was fourth, just 0.715s down, and Dawson completed the top five for Powerslide Suzuki. Davie brought the CFMOTO home sixth, meaning five different manufacturer badges appeared inside the top six.

Gawith converted his 11th-place start into eighth, finishing 13.021s from the win and banking solid points in a race where the front group’s pace was sharp. Harris, despite missing the podium, set the fastest lap of the race with a 1m34.794s on the final lap, underlining that the Suzuki had front-running speed to the flag.

British Sportbike Race One

British Sportbike Race Two

Sunday’s second Sportbike race was even closer, and this time Davidson’s winning run was finally stopped.

Harris again led early from pole, with Shelton, McCabe, Dawson and Davidson in the lead group. Davidson and Shelton were both into the top two by lap five, while Davie moved the CFMOTO into contention on lap six, briefly taking second before Shelton worked his way back through.

Shelton hit the front on lap eight and the closing stages became a proper two-rider scrap between the Triumph and the Aprilia. Davidson got back ahead on the final lap, but Shelton attacked at the Melbourne Loop, then forced the issue into Goddards before the pair drag-raced to the line.

The winning margin was only 0.010s, Shelton giving the XMT Triumph a superb victory and ending Davidson’s three-race winning streak. McCabe was third, only 0.237s from the win, with Davie fourth on the CFMOTO and Dawson fifth on the Suzuki.

Davie also set the fastest lap of the race, a 1m35.120s on the final lap, which was a neat machinery footnote. The CFMOTO did not win, but it was quick enough to set the benchmark lap in a race otherwise defined by the Triumph-Aprilia duel.

Goodman was sixth on the Aprilia, Mackay seventh on another Aprilia, Asher Durham eighth on Suzuki, Rhys Stephenson ninth on Triumph and Lewis Smart tenth on Triumph. Gawith finished 16th after starting ninth, while Rossi Banham and Harris were both non-finishers after running in the lead group earlier in the race.

British Sportbike Race Two

British Sportbike Championship

Davidson still leaves Donington with the championship lead and a strong points haul. His Race One win and Race Two second place moved him to 97 points, 17 clear of McCabe on 80. Dawson sits third on 76, Shelton’s victory lifted him to fourth on 61, and Davie’s strong CFMOTO weekend moved him to fifth on 56.

From an MCNews.com.au angle, Gawith’s Saturday eighth was the high point of the weekend. The Australian sits 15th in the standings on 16 points, with his Powerslide Suzuki team-mates Dawson and Durham both well placed inside the championship top six.

The next round at Knockhill should provide another useful read on the class’s balance. Donington suggested the Aprilia RS 660 package remains the reference point in Davidson’s hands, but Triumph has now beaten it, CFMOTO has produced a fastest race lap, Suzuki continues to put multiple bikes near the front, and Kawasaki showed qualifying speed through Best. For a new class built around model parity and accessible middleweight machinery, that is a promising mix.

British Sportbike Championship Points

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1pMobile National Junior Sportbike

Marley Mackenzie left Donington Park still in command of the 1pMobile National Junior Sportbike Championship, but Ben Jolliffe ensured the weekend did not become another clean sweep for the Kirkcaldy Kawasaki rider, stealing Sunday’s second race with a last-lap move after Mackenzie had dominated qualifying and won Saturday’s wet opener.

The Junior Sportbike class is also worth some notes on the machinery angles. The category has evolved from the former Kawasaki Superteen structure, which was based solely around the Kawasaki ZX-4RR, into an open Junior Sportbike class with a 73 hp performance-equivalence concept. BSB’s own class-evolution notes list machinery such as the Kawasaki ZX-4RR, Kove 450RR Pro and Yamaha YZF-R7 as examples of potential eligible models. At Donington, however, the timing sheets listed the field simply by manufacturer, with Kawasaki and Yamaha making up the 22-rider entry.

Qualifying

Mackenzie was the clear benchmark in qualifying, taking pole with a 1m39.555s aboard the Kirkcaldy Kawasaki. Isaac Mark joined him on the front row for Team SBR powered by DKS Drilling, 0.394s adrift, with Mark’s team-mate Luca Hopkins completing an all-Kawasaki front row just another 0.073s back.

Jolliffe was the best of the Yamaha runners in fourth for Dunsley Heat Racing, 0.581s off pole, with Rory Creith fifth and Freddy Oakley sixth. Laken Payne, Lewis Mullen, Luca Wilkinson and Jediah Cumbermack completed the top ten on the Race One grid.

Junior Sportbike Race One

Saturday’s opener was run in the wet and shortened to nine laps, with Mackenzie officially leading every lap at the timing line despite plenty of pressure around him. The race had an early safety-car intervention after Freddy Oakley, Jediah Cumbermack, Isaac Mark and Findlay Page were listed as fallers at Starkeys Bridge, with the session notes recording the riders as OK, although Cumbermack was later noted as being taken to the medical centre.

Jolliffe had made the initial launch to Redgate, but Mackenzie soon reclaimed control. Hopkins briefly threatened early in the race before a moment cost him, while Jolliffe stayed close enough to make a final-lap challenge. The Yamaha rider attacked into the Melbourne Loop, but Mackenzie responded by claiming the inside line for Goddards and held on by 0.178s.

Lewis Mullen completed the podium, only 0.347s from the win, giving Yamaha second and third behind Mackenzie’s Kawasaki. Hopkins was fourth, 2.270s down, while Henry Ross came through from 12th on the grid to fifth. Payne, Jamie Hanks-Elliott, Creith, Wilkinson and Mason Johnson completed the top ten.

Jolliffe’s chase was underlined by the fastest lap, a 1m49.633s on lap eight, which also established the Junior Sportbike race lap record in the wet Saturday contest.

Junior Sportbike Race One Results

Junior Sportbike Race Two

Sunday’s race was dry and delivered a sharper, faster fight. Jolliffe started from pole by virtue of his Race One fastest lap, with Wilkinson and Mullen joining him on the front row, while Mackenzie started fourth and Hopkins fifth.

Mackenzie again found his way to the front early. The lap chart shows he led the first two laps, Hopkins led lap three, then Mackenzie led from lap four through lap ten. That left Jolliffe with one last chance, and he took it.

The final lap became a three-rider scrap between Mackenzie, Hopkins and Jolliffe. As they arrived at the Melbourne Loop, Jolliffe went from third to first in one decisive move, with the trio three-wide at the critical point of the race. He then held the advantage to the flag, beating Hopkins by 0.156s, with Mackenzie third at 0.259s.

Wilkinson was fourth, 2.375s back, and Mullen was only 0.010s behind him in fifth. Mark, Payne, Kylan Shuttlewood, Johnson and Ross rounded out the top ten. Jolliffe also set the fastest lap of the race with a 1m40.064s on lap ten, creating a new dry Junior Sportbike lap record at Donington Park.

Junior Sportbike Race Two Results

Junior Sportbike Championship

Mackenzie still leaves Donington with a useful lead. He sits on 95 points, eight clear of Jolliffe on 87, with Hopkins third on 76. Payne is fourth on 62, while Mullen’s consistent podium/top-five weekend moved him to 56 points in fifth.

For the wider class picture, Donington was a useful snapshot of the new Junior Sportbike direction. Kawasaki still has the weight of numbers and Mackenzie remains the rider to beat, but Yamaha took a win, two podium places in Race One, and also put Jolliffe firmly into the title fight. The next round is at Knockhill on June 19-21.

Junior Sportbike Championship Points