The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has landed at the historic Donington Park for Round 8 of the 2026 campaign. The Prosecco DOC UK Round is sure to be an exciting event under the sun in the British countryside but, before track action begins, make sure you’ve caught some of the biggest talking points from Thursday’s debriefs.
“SOME OF MY BEST RACES HAVE BEEN IN THIS LIVERY, AND I’M GOING TO TRY TO KEEP THAT GOING THIS WEEKEND”
It’s set to be an emotional round for Marc VDS Ducati and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), who said: “It’s going to be a different kind of weekend; it was a surprise, we didn’t expect it, and it’s going to be emotional. He’s someone who supported me a lot over my career, and my family, so it’s very difficult. We’re proud to be here and do the best job we can in his name. He had a lot of passion for all motorsport, cars and bikes. Some of my best races have been in his livery, and I’m going to try to keep that going this weekend. I live less than 20 minutes away, so it’s a definite home race. I’m hoping to have a lot of support from the British fans who are always amazing. It’s a track that will suit our style. I’ve had a couple of bad rounds, and I'm focusing on having good results. It’ll be a good battle for third; Montella has made a big step, and Alex has been solid for a long time. Let’s see what happens this weekend!”
“WE TESTED HERE A FEW WEEKS AGO… I FORGOT HOW NARROW THE TRACK IS!”
Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) was declared fit ahead of his home round, and he said: “I’m better than I was at Aragon. That’s a positive, but it’s been long I can’t lie. I wanted to be back sooner; I wanted to do Misano, but the team kept me pretty quiet in that one. I’m really happy, I’m looking forward to being back for my home race. We rode here a few weeks ago; we did a one-day test. I forgot how narrow the track is after being at Silverstone for so many years! It’s nice to be home with all the fans here, they say it always rains here, but it’s hotter than most of Europe right now! I had some good results here, but that was so long ago, my last time here was in 2018. It was good to test and refresh my brain after so many years.”
“I’M ALMOST AS GOOD AS I WAS BEFORE, JUST SOME PAIN IN MY KNEES”
Speaking about his return to action, Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) said: “I’m doing well, I’m almost as good as I was before, just some pain in my knees, but it’s the last thing left. I’m happy; after the crash, the first 10 days were difficult because I couldn’t rest, I couldn’t lie down and sleep. I tried everything I could to race at Misano, but it was a week or two too early. We’ve been here with our bike testing, and we did well. I think I will do ok this week. I enjoyed the feeling on the bike during the test; it was one of the best days of the year. I’d like this weekend to also be the best of the year, not in terms of results, but in terms of enjoying it. I have always had a good feeling here; here I earned my first podium and my most recent one. I’d like to continue with BMW, and I’m not scared as to them not having exercised the 1+1 option of my contract.”
“LIVING CLOSE BY, I JUST WANT TO GET OUT ON THE BIKE!”
Preparing for his home round, Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) stated: “I’m looking forward to my home race. It seems like it’s been a long week leading up to the weekend. Living close by, I just want to get out on the bike! It’s fantastic to race at home; I only get the chance to race in front of my British fans once a year. It’s always nice to see so many people on the banking. I think Ducati have been unbelievable this year, especially Nicolo. Keeping that win streak going won't be easy, but I expect them to be strong. We can just do our best and see if we can get a bit closer to them. I’ve not really thought about the Championship. My target is, every weekend, to maximise the points we can get.”
“WE’VE GOT A LOT OF ITEMS TO TICK OFF THE LIST AND TRY TO BUILD SOME CONCLUSIONS UNDER RACE CONDITIONS”
Another appearance for Jonathan Rea (Honda HRC) as a wildcard, who previewed his home round: “It was always part of the test programme to take part at Donington, so I’ve been excited about this for a long time. Suzuka was incredible. We did such a good job as a team. The race was faultless, no mistakes from anybody, which is what it takes in EWC. When the lights go out, it’s very difficult to think like a test rider because I’m a racer. It’s important that we still do our job. We’ve got a lot of items to tick off the list and try to build some conclusions under race conditions. Jake’s invaluable to the project. We were all here testing a few weeks ago. Now we’re going to have three bikes' worth of data to gather, so that’ll speed up the development as well. It’s really nice. I’ve watched the first couple of episodes of ‘The Greatest’, I’ve not seen it in its entirety yet, so I’m looking forward to that. I’m grateful to WorldSBK for making the effort to do that. Not just now, but it’s something I have to look back on. My kids travelled the world when they were really young, so they probably didn’t understand the impact I had during that era, so it’ll be nice for them as well.”
“THESE FOUR WEEKS GAVE ME MORE STRENGTH AND I’M BACK TO MY NORMAL FITNESS LEVEL”
Preparing for his first round at Donington Park, Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) stated: “It was a tough Misano round, but, at the same time, quite a positive one as I managed to score a few points. These four weeks gave me more strength for sure, and I’m back to my normal fitness level. It’s a relatively new track for me, and I’m looking forward to it. We tested here a couple of weeks ago. It’s super fun, still one of the most iconic tracks, and it’s a pleasure ride here. I think the reality is that we need to start looking at getting back to the podium. That’s the route we want to take. We’re aware our competitors are super strong; the Lowes brothers here might have some extra motivation. There’s not much I can say about my future. We are looking around, but hopefully in the coming weeks, we can have closure on this.”
“WE’VE CRIED TOGETHER, WE’VE HAD A LOT OF HAPPY TIMES TOGETHER…”
Fresh off the back of his 2027 renewal, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) said: “It’s a fantastic result! it was a goal of mine to be able to sign for another year with Barni Ducati. This makes five years with the team; it’s a good relationship. I’m very proud to stay, we are building speed together. We’ve cried together, we’ve had a lot of happy times together, and in the end, you build a real relationship. I think they believe a lot in me, and we spend a lot of time together. That relationship helps me stay calm. I hope now with a free mind to focus on this year, now we know what we have to do and I have good memories at Donington. Last year, I made a lot of mistakes, but I like the up-and-down nature of the layout.”
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