News

FIM Supersport World Championship is in full swing as the 32 riders head over to the iconic Donington Park Circuit in Great Britain, for the sixth round of the season. Fast and flowing, the 4.023km circuit lends itself to the stunning nature of WorldSSP racing and if history is anything to go by fans are set for a show.

Reigning world champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) continues to stamp his dominance throughout the WorldSSP championship, as the Turkish rider secured his second consecutive victory at the Motul Italian Round. Taking his 40^th victory in the WorldSSP in classic dominant style, Sofuoglu is on a strong run in 2017, and heads to a track of which he has an impressive history around. Winning the last two races around Donington Park and holding the lap record around the track, he will be a hard rider to stop on his ZX-6R.

Currently leading the championship standings, Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) heads to Donington Park fresh off the back of a podium at the Imola Circuit, and will hope to improve on his 2015 performance in the UK, where he has struggled at in the past. Consistency is key in WorldSSP, and the Frenchman has finished on the podium in all but one of 2017’s races, hoping to secure his second win of the season at Donington Park.

Heading for a big homecoming, Kyle Ryde (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) will have his eyes on repeating his wildcard performance of 2015, which saw the local rider take a stunning podium finish around his home circuit. Now back with a full time ride for the championship winning team, Ryde is yet to finish on the podium in 2017 but currently sits in seventh in the standings with some consistent results. Coming off the back of a tough weekend at Imola, the 19 year old will look to impress in front of his home fans and make that all important step onto the podium.   

It’s not just Kyle Ryde the British fans will have to cheer for, the trio of Kyle Smith (Gemar Team Lorini), Gino Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) and Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing) will be out in full force to impress the hoards of fans as they descend on the Leicestershire banking.

Smith is searching for redemption after mistakes around the Chang International Circuit saw the British rider miss out on the victory, and he has been fighting for the podium ever since. Taking a top six finish at Donington Park last time out, Smith will be hoping his Honda has the power to take him to the podium at Donington Park. Rea is continuing to struggle on board his Kawasaki machine, and has a mixed history in the East Midlands but the support of his home crowd certainly won’t slow him down.  Taking a third position back in 2011, Donington holds some strong memories for Rea and he will be looking to take a points scoring finish next weekend. Local rider Stapleford will certainly have the home support to back him in what has been a tough season so far. Living close to the British circuit, he will be looking to get some solid points on the board.

Locked in the championship fight are front runners Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda), Sheridan Morias (Kallio Racing) and PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse). Cluzel was unable to secure a podium finish last timeout but is continuing to show a consistent pace on board his Honda machine as he hopes to move up the championship standings. Morais was hindered by the tyres following the restarts at Imola but he is confident he can make that extra step in order to fight for the victory around Donington Park which is a circuit Yamaha’s tend to run well around, but the British circuit is one he has struggled around in the past. Jacobsen was unable to turn his pole position into a win last time out as himself and his team are working on finding the perfect pace. With a strong record around Donington Park – taking second position last season – Jacobsen will have the familiar support of the British fans around him.

With an updated timetable for the Pata UK Round, World Supersport will be out on track for Superpole one at 12:00LT on Saturday 27^th May, and the race gets underway at the same time on Sunday 28^th May.