The FIM Supersport World Championship’s ‘Fantastic Five’ led the way through Friday’s Free Practice 2 at Donington Park, with the top quintet of riders, separated by just 12 points in the championship, ahead of the pack.

Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) scored the fastest time of the day, pipping ahead of teammate Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) and Jules Cluzel (NRT) by 0.019 and 0.028 seconds, respectively. The leaderboard changed incessantly throughout the 50-minute second, with the top riders consistently improving their times after rain affected performances in the morning session.

Completing the top 5, Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) finished ahead of championship leader Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), who was four tenths of a second off the pace at Donington.

Sixth, separated from Caricasulo’s best lap by a second, was Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag), who vows to close the gap with the top this weekend with a third consecutive podium finish. His teammate Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag) followed close behind in seventh.

Home heroes Andrew Irwin (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) and Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing) closed Friday in eighth and tenth, respectively, with Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), replacing WorldSSP legend Kenan Sofuoglu for the rest of the season, in ninth and completing the list of riders who qualify for tomorrow’s Superpole 2.

The lights go green tomorrow at 14:15 local time (13:15 GMT) for the WorldSSP Superpole 1 and Superpole 2! Catch all the action thanks to the WorldSBK VideoPass.