A dazzling Donington double – All the best moments from Round 6!
Van der Mark writes his name into the WorldSBK history books, while Cortese and Carrasco extend championship leads
Something special always happens at Donington Park, and this year was no different. Five rounds in, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship machines crossed the Channel and leaped head-first into a memorable race weekend.
The many British riders across every championship were all willing to shine in front of their home crowd; but Donington can be a subtly treacherous track, as Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) found out on Friday as he crashed at Redgate. Kyle Smith (GEMAR Team Lorini) also took a Free Practice tumble, moments after flames from the back of his bike licked through the Friday showers, while Rob Hartog (Team Hartog – Against Cancer) was fortunate on Sunday to roll out of traffic’s way as he skidded out of the race.
Drama and dangers aside, Donington is a fantastic racetrack, just over four kilometres long and home to some of the best moments of WorldSBK history. One man who knows the place to perfection is Lincolnshire’s own Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), so hop onboard as he shows you around his home circuit.
It was another Yamaha hero who made the headlines on the weekend however, as Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) took home an epic Donington double, a spectacular duel with Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK duo Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes stunning the audiences on Saturday. The Dutchman finally prevailed for his maiden WorldSBK win, leaving the green machines behind to bicker for second place.
On Sunday history repeated itself, with Lowes replacing Sykes amongst the three-man-strong leading group. There was Dutch delight again at the end thanks to van der Mark, with a late surge by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) also handing him a first podium ahead of Rea. Catch the best moments from a memorable race here.
Who would win the sixth race of the FIM Supersport World Championship season was anyone’s guess, with just a dozen points separating the top five in the championship standings. When the dust had settled, it was Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) leading the series following a bruising battle with Jules Cluzel (NRT). See how the German finally became the WorldSSP leader here.
As for the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship, Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team) somehow repeated her perfect Imola performance by securing another lights-to-flag victory, this time in the UK. A thrilling triumph to increase herchampionship lead which you can relive here.
Don’t miss any of this season’s action, including much more from the UK Round, thanks to the WorldSBK VideoPass.
