A sixth all-British podium at Donington Park!
The British riders are thriving from the home support and for the 49th time in the entire history of WorldSBK, it was a British 1-2-3!
It was an electrifying wet Race 1 during the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, as Jonathan Rea took the lead of the championship for the first time in 2019. However, British riders over the years have become synonymous with success when racing at Donington Park, with the Union Jack flag visible at every glance around the Donington Park circuit – but more-so in Parc Ferme, as for a sixth time in nine Donington Park races, British riders locked out the podium at the famed venue.
Whilst Jonathan Rea breezed clear on the opening lap, Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) put in another fine ride to earn his second podium of the season and his 14th at the Donington Park venue. The ‘King of Donington Park’ got a good start from pole but was simply no match for Jonathan Rea in what were treacherous conditions. Sykes put in a strong performance to hold off fellow British rider, Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). All in all, it was the same riders from the front row of the grid which made up the podium, just in a different order.
British riders have always gone well at Donington Park, right the way through the history of the WorldSBK championship. In 1992, Carl Fogarty took his first of 59 wins at the circuit whilst in 2000, the first ever British 1-2 in a race was achieved by Neil Hodgson and Chris Walker – who were both wildcards that day. But this current era of British riders are also putting on a fine show, as this is the sixth time that British riders have locked-out the Donington Park podium.
And what’s even more special about this is that all the riders who have featured on those seven Donington Park podiums have been race winners and except for Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team), they’ve been race winners with numerous manufacturers in their time in the WorldSBK paddock. 2019 proved even more special for British riders, as it was the second time ever at Donington Park that the first four places on the grid went to one nation – most times, it has been by British riders.
So, with the 2019 WorldSBK championship taking a swing at Donington Park, it really has been a British feast at the venue where World Superbike racing began, back in 1988. British riders have come and conquered the second day of Donington Park in 2019, leaving the rest of the riders a mountain to climb ahead of the final day of action on Sunday. Can anyone take the fight to them?
Find out if more British success is to come on Sunday with the comprehensive WorldSBK VideoPass!
