Donington 2022

Ducati is looking to snap a long losing streak at Donington Park this weekend (no wins since 2011), but Alvaro is not particularly confident. We'll have to see if Ducati continues its long tradition of losing ground to the opposition.

https://www.crash.net/wsbk/feature/...p-its-donington-park-worldsbk-drought-weekend

Standings:
Bautista - 220 - Ducati
Rea - 184 - Kawasaki
Toprak - 141 - Yamaha
Locatelli - 108 - Yamaha
Lecuona - 99 - Honda

Not exactly a close race at the moment. Redding is top BMW in 10th place with 48 points. Baz is 11th on 45 points.

Storylines:

Vierge, Mahias, Konig, and Ponsson all declared fit for Donington Park

BMW lacking reference point with VDM absent at Donington

Gerloff to return at Donington

IOM TT Senior Winner, Peter Hickmann, To Wildcard at Donington

FP1 Results:

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu - Pata Yamaha with Brixx - 1:27.805s
2. Jonathan Rea - Kawasaki Racing Team - +0.134s
3. Michael Rinaldi - Aruba.it - Ducati - +0.241s
4. Alex Lowes - Kawasaki Racing Team - +0.282s
5. Alvaro Bautista - Aruba.it - Ducati - +0.356s
6. Scott Redding - BMW Motorrad Team - +0.651s
7. Axel Bassani - Motocorsa Ducati - +0.860s
8. Iker Lecuona - Team HRC - +1.002s
9. Loris Baz - Bonovo Action BMW - +1.052s
10. Philipp Oettl - Team Goeleven - +1.108s
11. Lucas Mahias - Kawasaki Puccetti - +1.238s
12. Leon Haslam - Pedercini Racing - +1.260s
13. Peter Hickman - FHO Racing - +1.501s
14. Garrett Gerloff - GYTR GRT Yamaha Team - +1.754s
15. Andrea Locatelli - Pata Yamaha with Brixx - +2.018s
16. Illia Mykhalchyk - BMW Motorrad Team - +2.156s
17. Tarran Mackenzie - McAMS Yamaha - +2.406s
18. Eugene Laverty - Bonovo Action BMW - +2.555s
19. Xavi Vierge - Team HRC - +2.761s
20. Kohta Nozane - GYTR GRT Yamaha Team - +3.467s
21. Leandro Mercado - MIE Racing Honda Team - +3.473s
22. Christophe Ponsson - Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha - +3.475s
23. Hafzh Syahrin - MIE Racing Honda Team - +3.564s
24. Luca Bernardi - BARNI Spark Racing Team - +3.762s
25. Oliver Konig - Orelac Racing Verdnatura - +3.795s
26. Roberto Tamburini - Yamaha Motoxracing Team - +4.012s

Rea and Lowes ruled most of the session. Raz and Rinaldi ran fast laps at the conclusion of the session. BMW are using a new swingarm at Donnington. Maybe it's working? Redding in 6th.

FP2 Results:

1. Jonathan Rea - Kawasaki Racing Team - 1:27.016s
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu - Pata Yamaha with Brixx - +0.551s
3. Scott Redding - BMW Motorrad Team - +0.582s
4. Alex Lowes - Kawasaki Racing Team - +0.668s
5. Alvaro Bautista - Aruba.it - Ducati - +0.714s
6. Michael Rinaldi - Aruba.it - Ducati - +0.719s
7. Loris Baz - Bonovo Action BMW - +1.074s
8. Andrea Locatelli - Pata Yamaha with Brixx - +1.289s
9. Garrett Gerloff - GYTR GRT Yamaha Team - +1.415s
10. Leon Haslam - Pedercini Racing - +1.454s
11. Lucas Mahias - Kawasaki Puccetti - +1.466s
12. Iker Lecuona - Team HRC - +1.493s
13. Axel Bassani - Motocorsa Ducati - +1.518s
14. Philipp Oettl - Team Goeleven - +1.697s
15. Tarran Mackenzie - McAMS Yamaha - +1.797s
16. Peter Hickman - FHO Racing - +1.950s
17. Eugene Laverty - Bonovo Action BMW - +2.287s
18. Xavi Vierge - Team HRC - +2.320s
19. Roberto Tamburini - Yamaha Motoxracing Team - +2.407s
20. Illia Mykhalchyk - BMW Motorrad Team - +2.448s
21. Leandro Mercado - MIE Racing Honda Team - +2.666s
22. Kohta Nozane - GYTR GRT Yamaha Team - +2.736s
23. Christophe Ponsson - Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha - +3.404s
24. Hafzh Syahrin - MIE Racing Honda Team - +3.443s
25. Luca Bernardi - BARNI Spark Racing Team - +3.503s
26. Oliver Konig - Orelac Racing Verdnatura - +3.676s

Awesome result if you're in the UK or a Rea fan. If you're a fan of close racing, take heart. Ambient temps on Day 1 are significantly lower than Saturday and particularly Sunday. The races will probably require different setup and tire selection.

Looks like the BMW swingarm is working.....for Redding anyway. We'll have to see if it runs well in the heat on Sat and Sun. If it doesn't work for VdM when he returns, his injuries will have badly hurt his place in the BMW team and in the championship.

Gerloff about .1 away from Locatelli. Much better from Garrett. Hopefully, he stays healthy.

Vierge nowhere. Shocking. Lecuona not much better. Didn't they just do a test at Donington? Maybe it was only on a stock superbike. Regardless, these results are terrible for HRC. Camier must be pulling his hair out.

We’ll Race 1 was certainly shocking…or maybe not if you remember 2019. Redding looked really good. New swing arm is a revaluation in its first outing.

Congrats to Lowes on his first podium. Nice ride from Gerloff, too, but not so much from Locatelli or Vierge.

Hickman was a tease. Showed enough pace for points and maybe sneak in the top 10 but he missed out

Nice recovery from Bautista. Social media was on fire for a repeat of 2019, but Bautista threw a wet blanket over the flames. Congrats to Toprak for scoring his first triple! Rea is probably a bit disappointed after Race 2, but this was a major leap forward for his championship aspirations. Gap is only 17 points.

Midfield had some good rides as well. Rinaldi managed a solid 4th, and Redding did an entire weekend in the top 5 I guess the swingarm is working. Let’s hope he’s the only guy using it, otherwise it only works for him.

Overall, I’m still not sure what sort of BoP allows the Ducati to have sufficient power to pull .1 or .2 in every straight section. Is it because they haven’t won the riders title since 2011? Is that the part of the algorithm giving them more juice? Honda must have 300 hp

Anyway, decent racing. This season could have a nice crescendo.