WSBK: Race 1 Shows New Contenders at Donington Park

With good weather under British skies, World Superbike is making one of its few breaks from the European mainland, and racing at Donington Park this weekend. With a slew of local boys comprising the top spots of the WSBK grid, race fans at Donington had more than a few favorites for Sunday’s races, though pole-setter Tom Sykes seemed to be the favorite per usual, as the Brit looked for his first fair-weather win.

Though Melandri had the best start out of the front-row sitters, it was Leon Haslam who lead through the first turn at Donington, followed by Sykes, Melandri, and Guintoli. With the two factory BMW’s breaking away from the pack with Sykes on the Kawasaki, Max Biaggi lead the group for fourth with his Aprilia RSV4 Factory.

Out of touch with the front group for the first part of the race, Biaggi would eventually catch back up to the fron-runner, which also saw Sykes beginning to go backwards, as his rear tire faded in grip. With Haslam and Melandri getting around Sykes, it was a battle between the two BMW riders as to whom would bring the Bavarians their first WSBK win on the S1000RR superbike.

For a while, it looked like that man would be Leon Haslam, but an error with five laps to go, handed the Brit’s lead to his Italian counterpart. Hanging onto second place, Haslam had to contend with Sykes for the second step for Race 1, while Biaggi had to contend with Jonathan Rea, who showed a new-found pace in the latter stages of the race on his Honda CBR1000RR.

Taking a 1-2 finish for BMW, Melandri and Haslam gave the German squad its much deserved first World Superbike win on the S1000RR, and hope to repeat the feat for the Bavarian brand in Race 2. As if we needed any further proof of the fact, the factory BMW squad is serious contender this year in World Superbike.

Race Results from World Superbike Race 1 at Donington Park, England:

Source: WSBK