WSBK stars banking on a dry argument

After two rain-marred rounds in a row, the World Superbike top brass will be hoping for some clear skies when the championship heads to Donington this weekend.

Last Sunday’s round four at Monza was a particularly uncooperative one for the WSBK set, with race one cancelled and the second called early after yet more precipitation.

Now the plan is that normal service will resume at Donington, at a circuit which holds a special place in WSBK history after hosting the first ever round way back on April 3, 1988.

One rider who scored big at Monza was Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes, whose first victory of the year saw him move to within 6pts of championship leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia), with the pair separated by reigning world champion Carlos Checa (Ducati). All three have finished on the podium at Donington over the last few years, with Checa breaking through for his first win in 2011.

And as well as Sykes, there’s a battery of British riders who will be desperate to put on a show in front of their supporters, including Jonathan Rea (Honda), Leon Haslam (BMW), Leon Camier (Suzuki) and Chaz Davies (Aprilia), while Ireland’s Eugene Laverty (Aprilia) has also covered plenty of miles around Donington.

Haslam grew up and still resides close to Donington, while his teammate Melandri was also domiciled close to the circuit for many years when he was plying his trade in GP racing.

“I really like the track. Last year I had my first win in the Superbike World Championship there,” said Melandri. “The track is very good fun. The first section is very fast and smooth and the last part is all stop and go and requires hard braking. It is good fun because you have to change rhythm.

“I think we can enjoy a good race there on our S 1000 RR, but a lot depends on the weather. I just hope that it will be dry and good weather for us.”

Melandri is caught up in a logjam for fourth spot in the championship, which also includes Rea, Haslam, Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) and Laverty – just 8.5pts separating the quintet.

Another rider who could spring a surprise at Donington is Rea’s Honda-backed teammate Hiroshi Aoyama, who is yet to show his true colours in his rookie WSBK season but is a past 250GP winner at the 4.023km circuit.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Mark Aitchison’s already hapless season on his privateer BMW took a turn for the worse at Monza when he crashed out in the warm-up lap of race one. The 28-year-0ld will be hoping to inject some life into his campaign at Donington with plenty of setup-friendly dry-weather laps.

WORLD SUPERPORT
After a crash at Monza, Australia’s Broc Parkes (Honda) knows that he’ll have to rise to the occasion at Donington to keep his already slim championship hopes alive.

Parkes is currently sixth in the standings, with Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) leading the way from Sam Lowes (Honda).

The second Aussie in the field, Jed Metcher (Yamaha), will be pushing for his first top 10 of the year after knocking on the door at Monza with an 11th place finish.

There will be live coverage on SPEED from 8.30pm May 13.

CURRENT WORLD SUPERBIKE STANDINGS (AFTER FOUR OF 14 ROUNDS):
1 Max Biaggi, Italy, Aprilia 97.5
2 Carlos Checa, Spain, Ducati 95.5
3 Tom Sykes, Great Britain, Kawasaki 91.5
4 Marco Melandri Italy, BMW 72.5
5 Jonathan Rea, Great Britain, Honda 70
6 Leon Haslam, Great Britain, BMW 68
7 Sylvain Guintoli, France, Ducati 66
8 Eugene Laverty, Great Britain, Aprilia 64
9 Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic, Ducati 42.5
10 Davide Giugliano, Italy, Ducati 51
24 Mark Aitchison, Australia, BMW 1