Round 6 of the 2018 WorldSBK Championship sees the paddock head for the home of Superbikes: Donington Park. The British circuit hosted the first ever round of the championship in 1988, and since then the affinity for superbike racing in the UK has only continued to grow.
The spectacular, flowing track has been the canvas for some of the most incredible moments in the history of the class, but will this weekend be remembered in the same light?
In a somewhat surprising development, Silverstone has signed up to host the British round of MotoGP for three more years. The Northamptonshire circuit is to hold the race through 2020.
Since the British round was held earlier this year, it looked like the race would go to Donington Park. The Leicestershire track had shown renewed interest in the race, after the circuit had been bought by MSV, who also run the BSB series and own several other British tracks.
Hosting the series at Donington would have required upgrades in a number of areas, however, and making those in time for August next year would have been difficult.
Michael van der Mark suffered a rear tire failure during the closing stages of Race 1 at the Misano WorldSBK round.
The Dutch rider was leading the race at the time, and had a firm chance to claim a first career victory in the class, when his rear tire suddenly failed and pitched him off the bike through the series of fast right-handers at the end of the lap.
For Pirelli, it is the second round in a row where they have seen a tire failure affect the outcome of a race, after Jonathan Rea suffered the same fate at Donington Park.
The World Superbike paddock and the racing community came together at Donington Park, to pay tribute to Nicky Hayden.
But after two great races in the superbike class; a supersport race that saw great battles; and a Supersport 300 race that saw a three rider scrap for the win, it was the racing that paid the biggest tribute to The Kentucky Kid.
On a day when Nicky Hayden wasn’t far from anyone’s mind, the WorldSBK paddock paid tribute to The Kentucky Kid. With a minute’s silence, tribute videos, and the Stars and Stripes fluttering in the breeze as fans lined Donington Park, it was the racing that truly honored Hayden.
