World Superbike and World Supersport 2008 Round 11 DONINGTON - Europe
Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) put on a dazzling display of controlled wet weather riding to lead the entire second race of the Donington Park WSB weekend and cancel out the memory of a first race crash. Race one lasted only 19 laps in total, and was an aggregate even after an oil spill brought out the red flags, then the return of heavy rain stopped the second leg four laps early.
In a weekend which had featured wet sessions in every single outing until the first WSB race itself, Kiyonari, who had qualified second behind Troy Bayliss, fell while leading on lap two of the first race, at the same spot his team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR Jr) would fall at seconds later. Kiyonari’s brilliant recovery after a delayed second race, which was started in sudden monsoon conditions and on full wet tyres for all, puts him eighth in the championship on 190 points.
Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) is still the top scoring Honda rider in the championship standings, fourth overall despite crashing out on a suspected oil spill in race one, and then posting a ninth place finish in race two. He had been a strong third after the wet Superpole session, but could not quite match his practice pace in the second race.
Bayliss was awarded the first race win, from local wildcard Tom Sykes and eventual third place man Max Biaggi, who inherited that place from his team-mate Ruben Xaus after the Spanish rider crashed on his slow down lap and was not classified a finisher.
In race two, local Honda wild card rider Cal Crutchlow took second after chasing ‘Kiyo’ for much of the race, with Troy Corser third. James Ellison, another local Honda rider, was fourth in race two.
In the championship itself, Bayliss has 359 points, Corser 258, Neukirchner 254 and Checa, 240.
Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR) was on for a great raceday at Donington, despite finishing only 25th in qualifying, until he fell and brought down wildcard Honda rider Leon Haslam at the Foggy Esses. He took points for 13th in the second race and now sits 20th in the championship.
Fifteenth-place qualifier Gregorio Lavilla (Vent-Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) rode hard to a season-best fourth in race one, and took a measured seventh in race two. Karl Muggeridge (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) missed out on Superpole but went ninth in the opener, posting a DNF in race two after falling at the final corner.
Chris Walker (Vent-Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) retired from each race after qualifying 13th, while Shuhei Aoyama (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) was 14th in race one, 17th in race two. Matt Lynn (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) replaced Jason Pridmore at Donington in a last minute rider switch, but had a torrid time in the changeable weather conditions, failing to meet the qualifying time but being allowed to race anyway, before posting two DNFs.
Kiyonari said:
"I was so disappointed to crash in race one. I got an incredible start, which is unusual for me and maybe I was a little too excited. I was so sorry for my team who worked so hard to give me a good bike for dry conditions, even though we had no dry practice. For the second race, I was actually quite pleased it rained, because we knew the bike was good in the wet. But the conditions were unbelievable in the early part of the race. I had very little control and, by the time the track started to improve, my tyres were finished. It was a little scary at times, but I’m very happy to repay the team with another win."
Checa said:
"It was not easy at all today. Race one was very difficult and I had no confidence for race two in those bad conditions. The start was very difficult and I had to take my time, but I couldn’t get up to speed with the riders in front. I tried to catch Xaus towards the end of the race but it was just too risky."
Sofuoglu said:
"It has been a very difficult weekend for me. I couldn’t get a good feeling for the bike during the practice and qualifying sessions and then the first race gave us completely different conditions. Of course, crashing early made it more difficult and my shoulder is quite sore so it would have been even harder to ride in race two. I can only hope for better conditions in Italy."
Rolfo said:
"I am really disappointed with today's results of course. Starting from the last rows always makes life difficult, but after the first few opening laps the bike felt great and I was able to make some fast laps quite quickly and in few laps I reached fifth place. During the tenth lap the race was red flagged. In the second leg of the race, after an excellent second start, I had a bit of a battle with Haslam and Sykes. In the Esses I tried to overtake them but I crashed and I was not able to restart. I’m sorry for the team and I want to thank them for setting things up so well on the machine."
Lavilla said:
"So far this has been the best weekend for the team and for myself but ironically it’s also been the hardest as the whole weekend has been in the wet. The first race was a gamble for tyre choice as the weather was really unpredictable with spots of rain and dry periods but we managed to finish fourth. Race two was once again a difficult one as we had a really heavy downfall on the starting grid and on the first lap."
Walker said:
"I was desperate to make it into Superpole coming into this weekend and I ended up qualifying about where I wanted to be. I had two strong race starts and was moving along well but we had technical problems in the races."
Round 12 of the 14 round World Championship takes place at Vallelunga 21 September, with only WSB and WSS classes in attendance.
- Honda -
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