British Superbikes Round 3 Donington Park

19-21 May 2023

A new track surface had been laid over the winter at Donington Park and from the pits the word from the riders was the grip levels were through the roof. Great news for the riders, not so for the rest of the team as they tried to work out the race strategy for the new surface. The big question was tyres, how long would they last at race pace?

It didn’t help to understand that question when the main practice day on Friday had some mixed weather conditions with the saltire red cross flags being waved by the marshals indicating precipitation just as the Superbikes came out for their first session.

There wasn’t much rain but when you are flat out on a superbike and droplets of rain smash off your visor it will change your riding style, effectively changing the data recorded, so not ideal for the teams.

Starting my weekend at the Melbourne Loop, it didn’t take long for the very light rain to dry off and the riders were attacking the corner, resulting in some nice pictures. The shooting conditions were just about perfect, overcast but bright and a now dry track, which was to continue throughout the weekend.

The free practice session didn’t last long, so with a few hours to kill before they came out again it was off to the pits and paddock for a bit of paparazzi action.

Motorcycling legends Rodger Marshal and Rock Ron were out mentoring their riders and the True Heroes Scrawn and Charlie were getting some practice in for the British Supersport races.

There are always a few interesting guests hanging around the garages and this weekend was no exception. Last year’s BSB Champion Bradley Ray was taking a break from World Superbikes and was back visiting his old team that has new sponsors - the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha.

Rodger Marshal who was working for McAMS Yamaha last year appears to be mentoring Ryan Vickers who took over the OMG ride from Bradley Ray. Can one of Grimsby’s finest get the best out of Vickers where others have failed?

Race One

The Bennetts BikeSocial Sprint Race was shaping up to be something special, as during qualifying and practice the previous record lap times had been demolished. A record lap can only be awarded during a race, so it was on the cards that a new record was going to be set by one of the 21 riders who lined up on the grid. 

And the lap record did fall, taken by Leon Haslam #91 in a time of 1:27.593 on his BMW ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team bike. To be honest, standing trackside, this was the most interesting thing that happened from my view point at Coppice.

I didn’t see the incident between Andrew Irwin and Christian Iddon on the second lap where both riders went down and a racing incident was declared, with no action from race control against either rider. 

Kyle Ryde got out in front and remained there with a second to spare at the checkered flag, with Bridewell and Haslam fighting it out for second. It wasn’t a boring race but I was expecting more considering the track surface and conditions.

Race Two

The post race interviews hinted that some of the riders in race one might have been holding back a bit with concerns over tyre wear. I for one was hoping they were going to give their all in the second race.

When the flag dropped Ryde got a great start and took the lead, Glenn Irwin on the other hand ended up in 14th place after a disasterous start. Pushing hard to gain some places, Irwin over did it and crashed out recording a second DNF of the weekend. Not ideal for a championship contender.

Ryde was looking good until he wasn’t! Low siding out on lap 12 whilst in the lead and leaving bits of his Yamaha on the track resulted in the safety car being deployed.

The pack formed up behind the safety car with no overtaking allowed as the orange army dealt with the debris remaining on track.

When the light on the safety car went out all hell broke loose. With three laps to go Bridewell was leading with O’Halloran, Haslam, Brookes and Vickers in hot pursuit.

O’Halloran hit the front and stayed there as Bridewell dropped down the field with a mechanical issue, Haslam and Brookes were pushing hard then Vickers probably with Rodger Marshal’s words of wisdom “send it but don’t fall off” sneaked in and grabbed P2 ahead of Brookes at the flag.

Vickers’ body language on the slow down lap said it all. A podium has been a long time coming for Vickers. He has the skill and now the machine and I am looking forward to seeing what he does for the rest of the season.

Race Three

Leading from the start to finish and keeping his LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha shiny side up resulted in the second win of the day for Kyle Ryde.

Following him home in second was Bridewell with his BeerMonster Ducati team mate Glenn Irwin who had come through from 14th place on the starting grid three seconds behind.

Vickers finished a close fourth, with Leon Haslam in eighth, which sealed his Milwaukee Spring Grand Slam trophy for the most points from Oulton and Donington Park 

In the Pirelli National Superstock Championship the title race is starting to become a little clearer, with the top five all putting in good results. Linfoot, Kerr, Bourne and Olsen have all taken wins, with Talbot consistently running with the leading pack but yet to register a win.

At Donington Kerr #5 was first, Linfoot #4 second (in a reversal of places at Oulton) and Alastair Seeley #34 in third.

The PistonClick team pick out a rider to follow for the season and this year it’s Adam Brown in the HEL Performance British Junior Supersport.

This race series is open to 300-500cc machines like the Honda CBR500R or Kawasaki Ninja 400 (EX400). There was no practice or qualifying on Friday as some of the riders had school exams to do, which tells you everything else you need you know about this class.

This is Adam’s race report from Donington.

Adam Brown #33

FREE PRACTICE 0900 20^th May

With Adam having ridden here before on a test, it was a track that he had fallen in love with and it suited his riding style. It was a beautiful sunny morning at Donington and we were all looking forward to a great weekend of racing. With only 25mins to find a good setting for qualifying, Adam was pushing from the start with some good solid consistent laps, and as usual for Adam, he did his fastest on his last lap of 13 leaving him 10^th fastest with room to improve for the upcoming qualifying at 1245.

QUALIFYING 1245 20^th May

Qualifying was not as we expected and Adam was unable to register a valid lap. Unable to change gear successfully, Adam was frustrated and although he tried to get a lap under his belt the clutch continued to be an issue. Not getting a time in was disappointing for all, especially Adam, who was now to start race 1 from the rear of the grid in 34^th position.

RACE 1 P 34

With Adam starting his last Race at Silverstone from Pole, and now starting from the rear of the grid (it must be the first time this has happened) he had a lot of hard work to do. In our plan for the race we discussed chipping away and slowly making his way through the pack and not throw it down the track into the first corner. However, Adam had other plans and was going to give it full throttle and see what happened!

When the lights went out and the race got going Adam had made up an incredible 14^th places in the first lap! He continued to overtake and make his way through the pack, and with the race red flagged at lap 6 he had made his way up to 12^th position which was an amazing achievement. Recording a good lap time for race 2 where he starts in 13^th Place

RACE 2 P13

Starting from 13th on the grid Adam made great advances and reached 8th place in the early stages. Then he experienced braking issues and was seen adjusting the lever trying to sort the problems.

As the leading pack started to break away, Adam was left with a gap and an impossible task of trying to catch up without slipstreaming and getting a tow.

He continued to struggle into corners with hardly any brakes left, and after the smoke settled on a frantic last corner, he emerged in a commendable 10th.

Adam Brown quoted:

Donington Park was a mix of up and downs for me. Practice went ok as it was another new track for me. I had a small technical problem in qualifying which meant I did not get to complete a flying lap and it put me at the back of the grid.

Race one was good fun passing, 22 riders in five laps to come away with 11^th in the race after it was cut short. I got a good start in the second race from 13^th on the grid and was in 8^th coming out of turn one. I had a small braking issue on lap two which meant I couldn’t brake as hard into the corners and so I lost some time on the front group. I know the Completely Motorbikes team will be working hard to ensure everything is perfect for the next round.”