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The 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has touched down at the Donington Park circuit in the United Kingdom for the Prosecco DOC UK Round, the fifth round of the 2022 season. Always an unpredictable event where drama is guaranteed and magical storylines materialise and dreams come true, we can expect more of the same in 2022. This weekend, Ducati and Kawasaki can both hit landmark achievements, with them going for 1000 and 500 podiums respectively.

MILESTONES TO REMEMBER: Ducati and Kawasaki set for history

For Ducati, they’re by far and away the most successful manufacturer in WorldSBK with 17 titles and 382 wins to-date, as well as some 998 podium places. 52 riders from 1988 until now have contributed to the podium tally for Ducati, with 24 riders all achieving at least 10 whilst the top five in the ranking (Carl Fogarty, Troy Bayliss, Chaz Davies, Troy Corser and Raymond Roche) have all achieved at least 50. Of the current grid, Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) has the most at 37 from 2020 until the end of 2021, whilst of the current riders, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) has taken 36, as he looks to pip Redding this weekend as well as secure the monumental 1000^th podium, of which the first came in Race 1 at Donington Park in 1988.

In green, Kawasaki have likewise been dominant, particularly since 2012, when they’ve clinched all-but-two Riders’ Championships, with six of them coming in consecutive order by the most successful WorldSBK rider of all-time Jonathan Rea. Kawasaki’s first podium also came in 1988 but in Race 2 of the second round at the Hungaroring in Hungary. A period of lack of podiums in the early 2000s combined with Ducati domination enhances the gap between them, although since 2012, Kawasaki have been the manufacturer on top. Kawasaki have achieved 344 podiums since 2012 whilst for Ducati, it’s been 236 – although both have outshone their rivals, hence the landmarks. In terms of most successful rider with Kawasaki podiums, it is of course Jonathan Rea with an incredible 183.

RED TO GREEN: a colour change at Donington Park

Looking specifically at this weekend and the fact that for Ducati, a podium in every race in 2022 – including two double podiums at Misano – and for Kawasaki, they’ve missed the rostrum only once, it should happen in the UK. However, for Ducati, Donington hasn’t been the best in recent years; no win since 2011, no top two finish since 2016 and since their last win, there’s only been six other podiums and just one for the Panigale V4 R out of six– Alvaro Bautista in 2019. However, Ducati still have more Donington Park podiums than any other manufacturer with 54, six ahead of Kawasaki, thanks to a dominant display throughout the 90s and then into the 2000s. In fact, from 1990 to 2001, Ducati were on the podium at least once every year. They took a 300^th podium place in 1998 with Troy Corser at Donington Park, whilst a 400^th came at the track with Steve Hislop in 2001.

However, in recent years, Kawasaki have taken over the mantle of ‘manufacturer to beat’ at the famous British venue. Whilst Kawasaki did enjoy podium success in the 90s at Donington Park – a first podium coming in 1991 – it wasn’t on the scale of Ducati’s. Without a Donington Park podium since 1997 until 2012, the Japanese manufacturer would soon make up for it, with them taking a podium in every single race up until Race 2 last year, after Jonathan Rea crashed from the lead, leaving it to be a Yamaha 1-2 with Toprak Razgatlioglu and Garrett Gerloff, whilst Donington Park specialist Tom Sykes took a final podium in WorldSBK with third for BMW. In that time, Kawasaki also celebrated 100 race wins at Donington Park, with Rea’s first home win in green in Race 2, 2017.

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