As announced, here is a collection of pics starring some of the nice ladies who attended the latest World Superbike round in Donington, UK. Not too many pictures from Donington Park this time around, but nonetheless the gallery features some of the most charming English roses we have ever seen. Don’t feel like taking our word for that? Check it out for yourself.

View the full Paddock Girls SBK - Donington 2012 photo gallery

As usual, in the wake of a major event, we present a huge collection of pics coming from paddock, pits, podium and everywhere else where you can see some action even if the bikes are not moving, and the 5th round of the World Superbike Championship held in Donington Park last weekend makes no exception. As usual, another gallery featuring some of the nicest hostesses attending the race is also in the works, so stay tuned..

Replacing injured John Hopkins in Fixi Crescent Suzuki has cost Peter Hickman his ride with British Superbike team MSS Bathams Kawasaki.

The Kawasaki team had issued a previous statement reporting that they did not release their rider to compete in the World Superbike event despite Fixi Suzuki’s team manager Jack Valentine’s saying otherwise, “I would like to thank the MSS BSB team for allowing him to ride this weekend.”

Apparently Hickman decided to personally take the opportunity of riding at an international level and seeing Hickman on a Suzuki (and a former BSB rivals bike at that) pissed Kawasaki off enough to send Hickman packing.

“Following his decision to ride a rival manufacturer’s machine at the Donington Park World Superbike event, Peter Hickman has breached his agreement with MSS Bathams Kawasaki. Neither the team nor Kawasaki Motors UK agreed to release the rider and the decision has been made to dispense with his services with immediate effect

MSS team manager Nick Morgan also added, “I have always believed that an agreement - whether in written form or even a handshake between two parties - is binding and, in my opinion, implies a high degree of mutual respect, in breaking this, we regard our agreement as void. We will now actively look for a replacement rider to compete alongside Michael Rutter to continue to give the Ninja ZX-10R good results and exposure. As a team we wish Peter every success for the future.”

Hickman scored a DNF and a 9th place yesterday at Donington and Suzuki’s Paul Denning had this reaction on Twitter when he heard about Hickman losing his ride, “MSS firing Hickman is a joke - how can you get fired from a job that doesn’t pay you a single penny and for which you have no contract??”

It is still unknown whether John Hopkins will recover enough from his Monza injuries to compete in the upcoming round at Miller Motorsports as he tweeted a couple of hours ago, “The condition of the Hip is unfortunately quite serious but further test results will determine just how serious ! More news to come soon..” and if Hopper isn’t fit enough, Fixi Suzuki already has a rider free from any binding contracts.

We hope nobody missed out on the incredible show that the World Superbike guys delivered yesterday in front of a delighted British crowd: the boys surely did not pull any punches and both races were absolutely amazing. The battle raged on till the very last corner, and here is a massive collection of pictures taken right on the spot in Donington Park to help us recalling those unforgettable moments. We just cannot wait for the next round in Utah.

After the Monza debacle, round five of the World Superbike championship at Donington Park was just what the doctor ordered for any red blooded racing fan. Five spectacular riders battling it for the victory in both races, some hard overtaking passes, the celebration of the first ever win for a manufacturer, some costly errors and a bit of controversy to spice up an already action packed weekend.

BMW tried to lodge a protest regarding the last corner incident in Race 2 involving Jonathan Rea, Marco Melandri and Leon Haslam, but the Race Direction deemed it just some hard ‘macho’ racing and the Honda rider came away with no disqualification or penalty, so the witch hunting on who to blame can be laid to rest.

Max Biaggi continues to lead in the standings with 128,5 points despite having only victory ( race 1 at Phillip Island) followed by Tom Sykes with 123,5 points (one half points victory at Monza) and Jonathan Rea is third with 108 points. After a Assen, Monza and Donington, the slumping reigning World Champion Carlos Checa finds himself in fourth and 23 points from rival Biaggi. The Althea Ducati rider will have to pull out another double at Miller Motorsports if he wants to stay in the title hunt.

Marco Melandri (1st and DNF)

“It is an awesome feeling for me to put my name in the history books of a factory like BMW Motorrad. I could not have dreamt of this when I was young. I just want to say thank you to BMW Motorrad in Germany, to the team at the track and to everybody involved in the project. We have been working so hard and we have never been close to giving up, even when we have had some difficulties. We will keep pushing, and I am more than happy. I am disappointed with the result of the second race. I was trying to pass Leon in the final corner, although I knew it would be difficult but I am a racer and I had to try. I ran a little wide and expected Leon to pass me back – finishing second would have been ok for me. Then Leon was hit and he crashed. His bike hit me and I crashed too. I feel sorry for both of us but that’s racing. We now have to keep our heads up high and look forward to Salt Lake City where we hope to be fighting for wins again.”

Jonathan Rea (4th and 1st)

It’s nice to win and, in that second race, everybody wanted to win so bad. It was a crazy race and I made it hard work because I dropped off the group again in the middle stage and then, when I caught the group, I made a big mistake and ran wide at the last corner. To catch up with five laps to go and make up some places and then cap it off with the win was unbelievable. I was quite happy with the fourth in race one as well – the guys gave me a great bike and Chris [Pike – crew chief] and his team were on it all weekend. It’s nice to come here and get a good result because it’s never happened in the past with Superbike. I got on the podium in Supersport but this is nice for the British fans and there were quite a lot of guys out there. On the slowing-down lap everyone was clapping and it’s nice to have a British winner at a British round.

Leon Haslam (2nd and 15th)

“I had a good pace in race one. In the end, I have to say that I am kind of disappointed with the second place. I had a big wobble out of Coppers and it actually put me on the right hand side of Marco instead of the left, and he braked a bit earlier that lap. I had nowhere to go, so I opted for the gravel. It was kind of a combination of things that caught me out but fair play to Marco. A BMW 1-2 result is just fantastic. Right now I just want to forget race two. I feel a bit frustrated because I was going for my first win for BMW Motorrad – at my home round, but we were denied that well deserved victory. The crash was not my fault at all… Anyway, that’s racing, and we’re now looking forward to the next round. Hopefully we can turn things around at the next race meeting at Salt Lake City. I want to dedicate my race one result to Robert Fearnall, who was a close friend of the family.”

Tom Sykes (3rd and 3rd)

“Race one was a fantastic race, I really enjoyed it and it certainly felt like a long one as it seemed to go on for many laps. Overall I think we had a very good show, lots of passing and a little bit too much at some corners, especially at the Foggy Esses, which seemed to claim a few victims. Unfortunately we seemed to struggle at one particular part of the track and that definitely affected our race performance. Yet again we got the holeshot and led for a number of laps in race two, but I was missing a bit of feeling with the wind, which was unfortunate. I managed to stay out front but made one mistake and all the other guys came past at a rate of knots. We didn’t quite have the best setting this weekend but a pole position and two podiums are great for myself and the Kawasaki team. I had the best seat in the house for the last couple of laps of race two, but for me five minus two equals a podium so I’m very happy!”

Max Biaggi (5th and 2nd)

“Two thrilling races. In the first race I had a bit more difficulty. We were losing ground to BMW and Kawasaki coming out of the curves even though we were fast in the straight stretches. In race two things went better. I rode well and was fighting for the podium. The last few laps were just mad. With tyres worn everyone was trying to gain positions, shooting through at every braking zone. The last curve gave us second place which is an important result: now we’ll go to Miller to confirm our performance, but we need to improve on acceleration.”

Carlos Checa (6th and DNF)

“After the result of race 1, which wasn’t bad, I thought I’d be able to do more in the second. I tried to start strong and found a good position but when I got to the apex I saw Laverty in front of me and he braked suddenly, maybe there was a rider in front of him I don’t know. I did everything I could to brake, to stop the bike, but there were riders all around me and I couldn’t avoid a fall. My leg is a bit sore and a little swollen but I’m ok. I need a couple of days to get over this result and then I’ll start preparing for Miller.”

Davide Giugliano (7th and DNF)

“It’s a shame because the day had started out fairly positively. We had seen in race 1 that we had a strong pace and we were certain that we could do better in the second. I started race 2 convinced that I could be up there with the top four but unfortunately what happened at the first corner penalized me too. We have however demonstrated that we have good pace and now we go on to America, a track that I don’t know, to see what we can do there.”

Leon Camier (9th and 4th)

“I had the pace this weekend to be with the top guys and it felt good fighting and catching them today. In race one, there was a problem with the brakes and I couldn’t get into the turns the way I wanted and that prevented me from catching the guys at the front. We changed to a softer rear tyre for race two. My start was OK and if I hadn’t been held up for so long by Laverty and Guintoli I’m sure I would’ve been challenging for the podium at the end. It was a really enjoyable race and great fun catching people and passing them.”

Michel Fabrizio (10th and 13th)

“In race 2 my start was quick, maybe too quick as I got a ride-through. While I was riding into the pit-lane there was a misunderstanding with a marshal. I thought that they wanted me to stop but it was not so, and I lost 5 more useful seconds. It’s a shame about the jump-start. Without that I would have had the chance of a good race. I’m not demoralised. I will be more charged up than ever for the US round.”

Ayrton Badovini (11th and 6th)

“Race 1 started uphill after the collision at the start. That cost me a lot of time and forced me into a catch-up race. For race 2 we tried a soft front tyre but it wore out as soon as we got into the second part of the race, so I raced conservatively to get the best result possible. We come out of this weekend with a clear view of what we have to work on for Miller”.

Loris Baz (16th and 8th)

“Race two was really good, to be eighth is a result even if there were some crashes from other riders. I think it would have been about 13th or 14th without those and that is really positive for a first race. But crashes are part of racing and I took some good opportunities. If you look at my lap times I did nearly all my laps alone in front of a group and if you take off the first lap I was about 0.9 seconds from the pace of the fastest riders, like Tom, Rea or Melandri. Less than one second from the top riders in my first race at this level is pretty good.”

Eugene Laverty (15th and DNF)

“The crash was the worst possible way to end this weekend. After struggling in Race 1 with a technical problem and finishing fifteenth, in the second race I didn’t want to lose contact with the lead pack. Just as I was pushing hardest I lost the back end, demolishing my RSV4. Physically I’m fine, so all we can do is take a lesson from these problems and get back on track with the next round in America”.

Hiroshi Aoyama (17th and 10th)

It was a race track that I know and I was expecting a little bit more result. The first day we started in a good way but on the second day we could not improve in qualifying so we were 17th and missed Superpole. This was a little bit disappointing but for the race we tried to improve the set-up. Somehow, in the first race, we went in the wrong direction, so I was fighting but could not make it. In the second race, we went to the opposite set-up and it seems like this was positive and I could fight for tenth position. Also, as a team, Johnny won the race, so it was not so bad a weekend. Of course I want to be better but I have never ridden at Miller so I have to learn the racetrack but I am thinking positive.

Peter Hickman (NC and 9th)

“I had an electrical problem in race one and had to pull into the pits after just two laps. The guys fixed it and I went out again, but by then I had lost too much time to make any impact on the top 15. Fortunately there were no problems in race two and I was able to run consistently fast and chip away at the people in front of me one by one. My fastest lap was on lap 17 and I am really, really happy with how much I’ve learnt this weekend - getting ninth today was like a win for me! I would like to give huge credit to the team for building such a brilliant bike and working so hard to help me this weekend and I would also like to say a big thank you to everybody at FIXI Crescent Suzuki for giving me this chance.”

Race 2 at Donington Park has left BMW seething and calling for Jonathan Rea to be disqualified after he took his second victory of the season with final corner pile-up, as the Honda rider collided with Haslam causing a domino effect which also wiped out Melandri.

It was a thrilling race with a lot of hard overtaking between the same riders who starred in Race 1, Tom Sykes, Max Biaggi, Leon Haslam, Marco Melandri, but it was on the last lap that changed the final and unexpected outcome of the race.

Leon Haslam was leading into the final corner, when Melandri in a last desperate thrust tried to dive up the inside of his BMW team-mate, only to run wide which let Haslam turn into the corner only to find Rea taking advantage of the small gap, the two made contact with Haslam getting the worst of it crashing down and sliding he wiped out Melandri, and the two BMW riders ended up spitting dust and grass and a lot of anger just a few yards from the finish line, Haslam managed to re-start his bike and finish 15th.

Rea survived the close encounter inheriting the 1st place, with Max Biaggi and Tom Sykes taking second and third.

Leon Camier was fourth followed by Sylvain Guintoli who had lonely ride to fifth while Ayrton Badovini, Chaz Davies, Loris Baz Peter Hickman and Hiroshi Aoyama completed the top ten.

It was another day to forget for Althea Racing who saw Carlos Checa attempt a pass on the Eugene Laverty (who would later have a spectacular crash at the Craners) at the beginning of the first lap and clipped him and in the contact wiped out Effenbert Liberty’s Jakub Smrz and his own team mate Davide Giugliano. Checa is now down fourth in the championship.

WSBK Donington Race 2 results:

01- Jonathan Rea – Honda World Superbike Team – Honda CBR 1000RR – 23 laps in 34’31.847
02- Max Biaggi – Aprilia Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 0.508
03- Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing Team – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 2.029
04- Leon Camier – FIXI Crescent Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 4.245
05- Sylvain Guintoli – Team Effenbert Liberty Racing – Ducati 1198 – + 6.595
06- Ayrton Badovini – BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet – BMW S1000RR – + 17.469
07- Chaz Davies – ParkinGO MTC Racing – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 17.788
08- Loris Baz – Kawasaki Racing Team – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 21.093
09- Peter Hickman – FIXI Crescent Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 21.866
10- Hiroshi Aoyama – Honda World Superbike Team – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 22.620
11- Niccolò Canepa – Red Devils Roma – Ducati 1198 – + 26.764
12- Lorenzo Zanetti – PATA Racing Team – Ducati 1198 – + 27.043
13- Michel Fabrizio – BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet – BMW S1000RR – + 28.390
14- Mark Aitchison – Grillini Progea Superbike Team – BMW S1000RR – + 56.618
15- Leon Haslam – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – BMW S1000RR – + 1’20.196

It took BMW three years and couple of crew changes and a former MotoGP rider by the name of Marco Melandri to give the German manufacturer their first ever win in World Superbikes.

As expected it was a tight race 1 at Donington Park with the four front row starters, Tom Sykes, Marco Melandri, Leon Haslam, Max Biaggi battling it over the race distance and never losing touch only to have Jonathan Rea enter the fray in the final exciting paint swapping laps.

Sykes was on pole, but Haslam went on out side to overtake the Kawasaki rider at the first corner, but the Huddersfield man wrestled back the lead, after an error by Haslam with the BMW duo still hot on his tail with Biaggi taking the rear of the fleeing group and Rea more than second arears after battling it out with Carlos Checa.

The race would turn into a double battle, Sykes vs Haslam and Melandri vs Biaggi with the riders exchanging passes until first Haslam and then Biaggi - almost simultaneously - overcooked it at the Foggy’s running off track giving Melandri the lead and 1.8 second breathing space until the finish line. BMW team mate Haslam came in second after he struggled to get past Sykes after his error at Foggy’s, but he managed to take to regain the spot at the Hairpin and hold on to it, while Sykes finished in third after leading a big part of the race.

A hard charging Rea was fourth after he got the better of Biaggi on the final lap, when the Aprilia rider went wide and snuck out from behind him. Reigning champion Carlos Checa after a very prudent start pushed up to sixth after having had to battle not only with Rea but also with Sylvain Guintoli who then faded to 8th. Checa’s Althea team-mate Davide Guigliano came home in 7th, with Fixi Suzuki’s Leon Camier in ninth and clearly suffering Michel Fabrizio rounded out the top ten with his GoldBet BMW.

WSBK Donington Race 1 results:

1. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 34′26.736
2. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 34′27.464
3. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 34′28.345
4. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 34′28.555
5. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 34′28.838
6. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 34′31.556
7. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 34′34.256
8. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 34′34.663
9. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 34′41.880
10. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 34′42.801
11. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 34′46.541
12. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 34′46.906
13. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 34′48.010
14. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 34′48.253
15. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 34′53.656
16. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35′01.761
17. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 35′05.929
18. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 35′09.070
19. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 35′10.290
NC. Mark Aitchison (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 35′50.353
NC. Peter Hickman (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 35′17.985
RT. Gary Mason (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 22′08.892
RT. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 

Tom Sykes took his fourth Superpole of the season at Donington Park, while Leon Haslam was right behind him and they were the only two riders to go under the 1.28 barrier, but in tomorrow’s races - if it stays dry - and on race tires it will be a very close battle and we actually might see a factory BMW on the top podium for the first time.

Here’s what some of the riders had to say after today’s Superpole session:

Tom Sykes - 1st

“I am looking forward to tomorrow and we can use any rear tyre. It is just a matter of how we feel, what the conditions are and we will take it from there. The track here feels bumpier this year, some of the white lines are greasy, and it feels like more of a challenge. At the start of the weekend we had quite a harsh feeling with the set-up on the bike but we have improved it. You have to get every last bit out of the motorcycle. I was missing a bit of feeling but we kept working in Superpole 1 and 2, making some very small changes and finally in Superpole 3 those changes made all the difference. Small things make a difference at this level. I’m confident with the race set-up and hopefully we can have some good consistent weather to put on a good show for spectators. It was also nice to get the pole award from Roger Burnett who scored the first ever SBK pole right here at Donington. Twenty-five years on it’s happened to me!”

Leon Haslam - 2nd

“I am really happy to be on the front row at my home race! A big thank you to my team. In Superpole 1, we had a small issue with the bike. After fixing that, we put on a qualifying tyre. Then in Superpole 2, I clocked a new best lap on race tyres and was on P1. In Superpole 3, we decided to use the qualifying tyre right at the end, but Tom was quicker. He keeps going and getting his pole positions! In general, the race tyres were working really well, but we were struggling a bit with the qualifying tyres. The times are very close and I think it is going to be an exciting race. There are a lot of riders who can be fast and for sure racing is always close at Donington. We have been working quite hard on race set-up and are pretty consistent. Now we have to see what the weather does but at the moment I’m pretty happy. ”

Marco Melandri - 3rd

“I am very happy. The team and the people back at the BMW Motorrad factory did a great job. To be on the front row again in a dry Superpole here at Donington, a completely different track to Monza, is very important for us. It is great to be back after the issues we had yesterday. Today, I was happy with the race tyre and I felt good. I kept the qualifying tyres for the last Superpole but unfortunately they were not working perfectly; I had some chattering with them although the time was not too bad. Thank you to my team for the good work they did. Now I am looking forward to tomorrow. I will try to be on the podium.”

Max Biaggi - 4th

“Compared to Friday we have definitely improved, but there is still something missing because we are still struggling too hard to get everything to fall into place. The others are ahead of us. They’ve demonstrated speed on the fast lap and good race pace again today. In order to keep up with them we need better management of the bike which will allow me to be quicker and more consistent right from the start: if we want to be in it to the end, we cannot afford to lose contact with the front runners.”

Jonathan Rea - 6th

Firstly, we achieved our target which was to make Superpole 3, and the bike’s still working really well. I’m having some problems with the wheelie control on the straights and some aggressive power. We’ll try to smooth that off for tomorrow but, at the moment, the race looks a little strange because everyone’s found a little bit of pace with the softer tyre, which is quite fast. We’ve had one looking pretty good after some distance and one looking terrible so we need to evaluate the risk to go with that one, or run with the harder tyre, which is a lot slower, but we know it’ll complete the race in good shape. The bike’s working a lot better than last year so we’re definitely making progress with the CBR and the whole team is working well.

Leon Camier - 7th

“That was pretty close to getting our first front-row start of the year and I am a little disappointed that I didn’t quite manage it. It’s been good to put in a decent number of laps and because of that we’ve been able to improve the bike and the electronics. I did a long stint on a hard tyre and set some good and consistent lap times. Although the front row of the grid would’ve been great, as long as I make good starts, I expect to be mixing it with the leaders going into turn one.”

Carlos Checa - 9th

“We had tried the qualifying tyre at the start of the second Superpole phase but when I saw that I needed to go out again, I opted for the race tyre. I thought I’d be able to make a low 1m28. I gave it all I had but it seemed like I didn’t have the same level of grip that I had had in the morning, and I couldn’t do quite enough. Anyway, it went like that and tomorrow I’ll need to make a really strong start.”

Eugene Laverty - 12th

“We struggled once again in Superpole. We had some difficulties in all the sessions, but in the last free practice we made significant progress with some changes to the bike’s set-up. Unfortunately the soft qualifier caused some annoying chattering that created quite a few problems for me. We’ll start from the third row, but I’m encouraged by the fact that I’ve got a good race pace even after the tyre starts to wear,” he said.

Davide Giugliano - 13th

“In the morning things were going ok but then in Superpole, with the race tyre, I wasn’t able to put together a lap like I had been doing in the morning. Perhaps I was a little on edge, I don’t know, but it’s a shame because I missed out on phase two by just a tenth of a second. We need to make a strong start tomorrow, which won’t be easy from the fourth row but I’ll do my best.”

Hiroshi Aoyama - 17th

This morning we weren’t able to improve and the time between me and Berger was very close but, unfortunately, he made it to Superpole and I did not, so I am very disappointed. We have problems in quite a lot of areas, which I hope we can improve for tomorrow’s races. It’s a pity because we started with quite a good feeling on the first day, but today the others kept improving and we were not able to. I can’t push in the areas I want to and it’s quite difficult to pass other riders here, but I’ll do my best in the races and see what happens.

Loris Baz - 18th

“I think things have gone quite well so far and step by step I have been learning the bike. It took some time to get a good feeling on the Superbike, especially from the front, but I found it today. Qualifying went well, I think. I was 18th and only 1.5 seconds from the fastest lap after combined qualifying, so I think that is really good for my first time at a race on the bike. In the final free session I matched my fastest time from the morning qualifying session and then we put on a harder rear tyre, but I crashed in the last corner. That is a shame as I feel I could have improved my best time again in that session. I have no objective for raceday, if I finish 20th I will be happy and if I finish 15th or better I will be really happy!”

Peter Hickman - 19th

“Of course I am disappointed not to get into Superpole, but I always knew it would be a tough ask. I am still learning how the FIXI Crescent Suzuki behaves and each time I get on it my experience grows. I’m really happy with everything and I’m looking forward to racing against the top guys in the Championship. I generally make good starts, so I will do my best tomorrow to make up some places early on and see what happens as the race progresses.”

Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes has taken his fourth Superpole the season at Donington Park (what is he going to do with all those Tissot watches?) after Sylvain Guintoli broke his run at Monza.

The Huddersfield man stopped the clock in the third stint in 1.27.716 and broke Carlos Checa’s previous hold on the fastest lap record (2011) by three tenths of a second, while Leon Haslam maintained his second spot he came very close to giving BMW their first ever Superpole as he was less than a tenth of second from the Kawasaki rider.

Marco Melandri will be on the front row in third with his BMW performing better on race tires than on qualifiers, which happened to several riders. Max Biaggi managed to push out Silvain Guintoli from fourth in the final seconds of the session, but he’s suffering in the final two sectors of the track.

Next to Effenbert Liberty’s Guintoli will be Jonathan Rea who bettered his FP2 time by only three tenths, but it was enough to put him on the second row in sixth. Leon Camier took 7th in his best qualifying session so far this season, and since Donington doesn’t have super long straights his less powerful Fixi Suzuki isn’t losing in top speed.

Jakub Smrz who shone all weekend long ended up in 8th and one second from Sykes, he’ll have to fix that final sector which slowed him down during the final stint. For the first time in a year, Carlos Checa didn’t make it into SP3 and was 9th - his problem seemed to be at the Foggy Esses and he ran out of qualifying tires in the two previous stints, so he posted his best time on race tires which wasn’t enough to qualify on the two front rows.

Closing out the top ten was GoldBet’s BMW Ayrton Badovini ahead of team mate Michel Fabrizio who suffered a crash earlier in the day due to weakness in his arm (he underwent surgery before the start of the season) that came back with a vengeance with the cold temperatures at the English circuit, while Eugene Laverty was only 12th

WSBK Donington Superpole results:

1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′27.716
2. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1′27.864
3. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1′28.177
4. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′28.340
5. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′28.420
6. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1′28.546
7. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1′28.551
8. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 1′28.785
9. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′28.497
10. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1′28.614
11. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1′28.683
12. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′29.032
13. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′29.236
14. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 1′29.319
15. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′29.371
16. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′29.493
17. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1′30.008
18. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′30.237
19. Peter Hickman (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1′30.296
20. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1′30.402
21. Mark Aitchison (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 1′31.102
22. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′31.540
23. Gary Mason (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′33.103

The last time that Provec Racing (Kawasaki Superbike team) released a health update on Joan Lascorz was about fifteen days ago when they reported that the Spaniard who suffered a serious spinal injury (fractured 6th vertebra) during the post race test at Imola had left the Vall d’Hebron Intensive Care Trauma Unit and had been transferred to the spinal lesion ward and was waiting to be transferred to the Guttmann Institute to being his long rehabilitation.

The team has issued a new statement which says that the doctors have removed his tracheostomy tube as he is breathing on his own and that Lascorz is fully conscious and can talk with no problems and that he remembers everything about his crash at Imola - which will be in due time analyzed and explained publicly.

Joan has regained feeling and mobility in his arms and hands, however at the present has none in his abdomen or legs but when he’s transferred to the Guttmann Institute (on Monday May 14th) his spinal injury will be re-evalutated by his new doctors and therapists to program the recovery plan.

The team and family also thanked the doctors and nurses of the Vall d’Hebron hospital for the dedication and attention and all those who have been supporting then up to now, and thanking fellow riders Tom Sykes and Leon Haslam who mentioned Joan during the Monza podium ceremony, and also Lorenzo, Espargaro e Marquez and all the riders who supported Joan with their stickers in last week’s MotoGP race, and saying it was expecially moving seeing Espargaro and Marquez fight for the victory in Portugal with the banner “Animo Joan” on their fairings.

Source | motocuatro.com

This afternoon’s World Superbike second free practice at Donington Park saw Jonathan Rea pip Carlos Checa by just 0.049s to take the top of the timesheets in his last flying lap and the two were the only ones to dip under the 1.29 barrier in another very tight session.

Taking third was Leon Haslam with his factory BMW who finished ahead of Effenbert’s Jakub Smrz who has shone all weekend so far. Tom Sykes was ‘only’ fifth after being foiled on his last flying lap by Pedercini’s substitute rider Gary Mason with the Kawasaki rider having to run off track to avoid hitting him.

Marco Melandri was sixth, followed by Leon Camier and Aprilia’s Max Biaggi, while Sylvain Guintoli made a jump forward to 9th and was just a little more than three tenths from Rea. Eugene Laverty also made raced down the charts to 10th with a little less than half a second from the top of the timesheet.

Despite the stable weather - which means it itsn’t raining - Ayrton Badovini and Loris Baz both suffered crashes during the session, which will make Badovini’s mechanics work over time to order to prepare his BMW for Superpole.

WSBK Donington FP2 Results:

01- Jonathan Rea – Honda World Superbike Team – Honda CBR 1000RR – 1’28.856
02- Carlos Checa – Althea Racing – Ducati 1198 – + 0.049
03- Leon Haslam – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – BMW S1000RR – + 0.235
04- Jakub Smrz – Team Effenbert Liberty Racing – Ducati 1198 – + 0.283
05- Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing Team – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 0.288
06- Marco Melandri – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – BMW S1000RR – + 0.292
07- Leon Camier – FIXI Crescent Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 0.297
08- Max Biaggi – Aprilia Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 0.338
09- Sylvain Guintoli – Team Effenbert Liberty Racing – Ducati 1198 – + 0.347
10- Eugene Laverty – Aprilia Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 0.476
11- Davide Giugliano – Althea Racing – Ducati 1198 – + 0.614
12- Michel Fabrizio – BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet – BMW S1000RR – + 0.723
13- Niccolò Canepa – Red Devils Roma – Ducati 1198 – + 0.857
14- Ayrton Badovini – BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet – BMW S1000RR – + 0.871
15- Chaz Davies – ParkinGO MTC Racing – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 1.338
16- Loris Baz – Kawasaki Racing Team – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 1.527
17- Hiroshi Aoyama – Honda World Superbike Team – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 1.576
18- Peter Hickman – FIXI Crescent Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 1.634
19- Maxime Berger – Team Effenbert Liberty Racing – Ducati 1198 – + 1.826
20- Mark Aitchison – Grillini Progea Superbike Team – BMW S1000RR – + 2.108
21- Lorenzo Zanetti – PATA Racing Team – Ducati 1198 – + 3.145
22- Leandro Mercado – Team Pedercini – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 3.411
23- Gary Mason – Team Pedercini – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 3.825

It was still pretty cold at Donington Park for the second qualifying practice ahead of this afternoon’s Superpole and Jakub Smrz once again showed his love for the British track by taking the top spot again. The Effenbert Liberty rider posted the fastest lap in 1.280.740, bettering his yesterday’s Qp1 top lap time by almost half a second.

Coming in second and just a little more than a tenth of second adrift was Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes with Carlos Checa right on his tail - despite complaints of not being able to turn his Ducati in certain sectors of the track. BMW factory riders Leon Haslam and Marco Melandri were fourth and fifth respectively - evidently Melandri’s machine is no longer nervous, while Leon Camier continues to show his strong form by taking the sixth position.

GoldBet’s Michel Fabrizio was seventh despite a crash at the Melbourne Hairpin followed by Jonathan Rea none the worse following his two crashes yesterday. Chaz Davies qualified in 9th and outpaced Aprilia factory rider Max Biaggi by a whisker.

Also making it into Superpole will be Davide Giugliano, Sylvain Guintoli, Ayrton Badovini, Eugene Laverty who yesterday had trouble with the crosswinds, Niccolò Canepa and Maxime Berger, making it sixteen riders in 1.2 seconds.

Hiroshi Aoyama was 17th and has never qualified for a Superpole session so far this season, while Kawasaki replacement rider Loris Baz was 18th. John Hopkin’s replacement Peter Hickman took the 19th spot on his debut with the Suzuki machine. The British rider seems to have done a big no-no, as his BSB team MSS Bathams Kawasaki is very pissed off with him, as it seems that they didn’t give him permission to ride for Fixi Suzuki this weekend (and he is wearing his green and black Kawasaki leathers as he didn’t have time to have a new set made up)

WSBK Donington QP2 results:

1. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 1′28.740
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′28.877
3. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′28.935
4. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1′29.011
5. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1′29.028
6. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1′29.101
7. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1′29.280
8. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1′29.305
9. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′29.310
10. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′29.313
11. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′29.354
12. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′29.411
13. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1′29.557
14. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′29.696
15. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 1′29.746
16. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′29.950
17. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1′30.008
18. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′30.237
19. Peter Hickman (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1′30.296
20. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1′30.402
21. Mark Aitchison (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 1′31.102
22. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′31.540
23. Gary Mason (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′33.103