British Super Bikes - Donington Park - Round 3

Report by Jak Walker

Saturday 18th May 2024

Last weekend was Donington Park’s turn to host the third round of the top tier motorbike racing championship in our country, the Bennett’s British Superbikes.

Last time out at Oulton Park it was Glenn Irwin who dominated by taking a treble across the whole event with his Hager PBM Ducati. However, he did have a 6 point lead over Ryan Vickers in the standings. That’s up until now as we arrive at Donington Park’s high-octane circuit, which is guaranteed to deliver some exciting action across the whole weekend.

Normally, Sundays are considered the main day across the event, as it is the main race day for BSB and the many support races. However, Saturday’s action also had its fair share of drama throughout the day across the British Superbikes Championship and its leading support series, and I was lucky enough to be in attendance, which also happened to be my first British Superbikes event and my first report for the PistonClick website.

Pirelli National Sportbike

The first competitive session of the day came from the Pirelli National Sportbike championship. Italian Edoardo Colombi managed to top the timings and earn himself the first pole position of the day on his Aprillia for Gradara Corse Asd, with a comfortable lead of 0.807 seconds in front of second place starter Richard Cooper and his Triumph Daytona for PHR Performance Triumph. 

It wasn’t until near the end of the day until the fastest rider could take up his pole position with their first race, with Edoardo managing to convert his pole into a race win here at Donington Park’s GP layout.

R&G British Talent Cup

The British Talent Cup showcases the best up and coming talent in the world of professional motorbike racing. Every rider bar five are from right here in the UK, but it was one of the Americans, Julian Correa, who dominated the first half of the day by taking fastest in the first practice session of the day for the Talent Cup, and then carrying on that momentum by taking pole position by 0.382 seconds over Filip Surowiak. 

However, Correa was unable to convert his pole into a race win as Britain Amanuel Brinton came through with a fantastic performance taking the chequered flag first after starting back in fourth. 

Tracker Kawasaki British Superteen

Ted Wilkinson in the British Superteen took pole position for the one and only British Superteen race of the day by a shorter margin of what we’ve currently seen of 0.239 seconds over fellow Briton Lewis Smart. 

But once again, the pole sitter couldn’t earn a race win from his advantage and lost his momentum in the race as he lost the lead and dropped all the way down into fourth. It was the second place starter Lewis Smart who inherited the race lead and became the eventual winner by a gap of 0.477 seconds over Kalvin Kelly.

Quattro Group British Supersport

The leading support class for the British Superbikes saw Can Oncu take pole position for the sprint race from a combined list of 53 riders. However, as the race could only take 40 riders the final two positions would have to be determined, and it was Charlie White and Lewis Jones with their Ducati and Kawasaki who took first and second respectively in the Lance Chance Qualifying race to be able to compete in the sprint.

Can Oncu managed to take the flag first by just over two seconds in his Kawasaki for Gearlink Kawasaki, then it was Tom Booth-Amos and Benjamin Currie who took the remaining podium places. The last chance qualifiers, Charlie White and Lewis Jones, couldn’t gain much progress from their starting positions and remained at the back of the field in 33rd and 34th after the race saw drama throughout with six riders not finishing.

British Superbikes

The main event of the day first came on track during their quick free practice three before everything got serious for qualifying. Round 3 of the British Superbikes saw the return of Superpole qualifying format and it was Ryan Vickers on his Yamaha for OMG Grilla Yamaha Racing who managed to set the fastest time using his chosen song, Smells Like Teen Spirit. He took pole by a slim margin of 0.026 seconds from team mate Kyle Ryde. 

However, the first race of the weekend for the British Superbikes didn’t go as planned as Kyle Ryde took the shortened race win after Ryan Vickers did not finish. The race was red flagged and called off after a huge off, which saw #21 Christian Iddon’s bike get airborne before landing back down. Iddon looked injured but not seriously, and I could just make out what happened from looking at the nearby television screen at the track. 

So, after the Saturday action with #77 Kyle Ryde wining the opening race here at Donington Park on its full GP circuit for the Bennets British Superbikes, here is what the standings currently look like. 

1. Glenn Irwin - Hager PBM Ducati - 85pts
2. Danny Kent - McAMS Racing Yamaha - 76pts
3. Kyle Ryde - OMG Grilla Yamaha Racing - 73pts

Previous British Super Bike Reports