R3 Contenders head to Donington Park as competition heats up
The United Kingdom hosts the fourth round of the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Championship with plenty up for grabs at Donington…
The keen young riders that make up the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Championship will join the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship for their fourth round of the year at Donington Park, and the action is sure to be as enthralling as ever as the competition heats up.
The legendary British circuit close to Derby in the UK was featured on last year’s R3 calendar and will be familiar to a handful of the contenders, but for the rest of the field the technical track will offer a steep learning curve. Brazil’s Kevin Fontainha grabbed a great second place here last year, and he will be looking to repeat this feat as he currently sits fourth in the championship standings, just two points from third.
While his ultra-consistent approach has given triple winner Emiliano Ercolani a healthy margin of 35 points on the leader board, the Italian will have to keep an eye on the chasing pack as Gustavo Manso, Marc Vich and Fontainha remain in close contention, all separated by just nine points. Indonesia’s Aldi Mahendra sits fifth in the standings, and his sensational victory last time out in Race 2 at Misano has given him a much-needed boost in terms of both confidence and points.
The riders continue to improve round by round as they learn how to get the most out of their Yamaha R3 machines, and the racing and times continue to get closer. During the series’ third round last time out at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” the top six riders in Race 1 were separated by just 0.713 seconds, and in Race 2 the top six were once again covered by less than one second. This means that the two races at Donington Park are sure to be as thrilling and closely-contested as ever.
The youngsters will also get a taste of the extra activities that take place over the course of the British round as they make appearances on the Paddock Show stage during the weekend to meet fans and raise awareness for Riders for Health with special performances and fun activities.
You can follow all the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Championship action from Misano via the WorldSBK app, and on the Yamaha bLU cRU Official and Yamaha Racing social media channels.
