Friday

Mahias rounds off WorldSSP practice at Donington Park with sixth place

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing has completed day one of this sixth Supersport World Championship round, taking place at Donington Park in the UK. Can Oncu is not yet able to race after sustaining injury in an incident at Assen and so he is replaced again this weekend by experienced rider Lucas Mahias. Today’s track action was characterised by rain, which began to fall during the morning’s first practice. While the track was still dry, the Frenchman was able to set a 1’30”711 with which he closed sixth. The afternoon’s second session took place in the race and so, in agreement with his team, Mahias chose not to ride, deciding that it would only be a risky exercise considering the track conditions. None of the WorldSSP riders improved on their earlier times and so Lucas rounded out day one in sixth place. A result that augers well for tomorrow, when Lucas will be back out for Superpole and Race 1.

Donington Park – UK – Supersport World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Manzi (Yamaha) – 2) Montella (Ducati) – 3) Bulega (Ducati) – 4) Caricasulo (Ducati) – 5) Booth-Amos (Kawasaki) – 6) Mahias (Kawasaki)

Lucas Mahias: “Not a bad day. In FP1, I immediately felt comfortable on the bike, confirming that my feeling aboard the Ninja is improving every time we go out. I really like this track and the new asphalt offers a lot of grip, which is very helpful. In the afternoon I preferred not to ride in the rain, also because I didn’t want to lose that feeling I had this morning. Tomorrow’s weather should be better and so I hope to do well in Superpole and Race 1. Thanks to my team for all their hard work.”

Rain complicates WorldSBK free practice at Donington Park

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing is on track at Donington Park in the UK for round six of the Superbike World Championship. The work of the team and Spanish rider Tito Rabat was complicated by the weather, with intermittent rain preventing them from completing many laps in dry conditions.

During the first part of FP1, the rain was yet to make an appearance and Rabat was able to set a 1’30”686 on a dry track. A time that the Spaniard would inevitably have improved upon, if rain had not begun to fall. Almost as soon as the afternoon’s second free practice began, rain forced almost all of the riders to return to the pits. Considering the fully wet track conditions, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider preferred to remain in the garage, not wanting to risk a crash that could compromise his entire weekend. Thanks to his best time of the morning, Tito finished in twenty-first position and will be back out tomorrow for FP3, Superpole and the first of the weekend’s races.

Donington Park – UK – Superbike World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Rea (Kawasaki) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Oettl (Ducati) – 4) Bassani (Ducati) – 5) Lowes (Kawasaki) …21) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “Today was complicated by the rain unfortunately. This morning we were among the first to head out on track and I immediately pushed to get into a good rhythm. We quickly realized, just a few laps in, that the recently resurfaced track is really grippy and consumes the tyres. We hoped to continue to work on this and on the general bike setup during the afternoon’s session, but rain began to fall almost immediately and it didn’t make sense to ride and risk a crash, also because tomorrow the weather conditions should be a lot better.”

Saturday 

Lucas Mahias finishes eleventh in WorldSSP Race One

After rain conditioned day one of play at the Donington Park circuit in the UK, the second day of Supersport World Championship fortunately ran in dry conditions.
Having placed sixth in Friday’s free practice sessions, French rider Lucas Mahias was back on track today for Superpole and the first race of the weekend.

In Superpole Lucas put in a very strong performance, improving on his best of yesterday to set a 1’30”122 and secure fourth place on the starting grid for the afternoon’s race.

Mahias got away well when the lights went out, but after running near the front for a few laps, he was unable to find sufficiently fast pace to stick with the leading group. He then battled as part of the chasing group before crossing the line eleventh, just missing out on the top ten.

The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider will be back on track tomorrow for the second and final WorldSSP race.

Donington Park – UK – Supersport World Championship

Superpole: 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Montella (Ducati) – 3) Manzi (Yamaha) – 4) Mahias (Kawasaki) – 5) Huertes (Kawasaki) – 6) Tuuli (Triumph)

Race 1 – 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Manzi (Yamaha) – 3) Montella (Ducati) – 4) Caricasulo (Ducati) – 5) Van Straalen (Yamaha) – 6) Huertas (Kawasaki) …….. 10) Mahias (Kawasaki)

Lucas Mahias: “I’m quite disappointed with today’s result. I was fast in both the free practices and Superpole and started the race from the second row. I made a good start but then I couldn’t maintain the kind of pace I needed to run with those ahead. Luckily, we collected a lot of data which will be useful for tomorrow’s race, when we’ll try to do better. A big thank you to my team for all their hard work.”

Tito Rabat recovers in Race One at Donington and just misses out on points

The second day of the sixth Superbike World Championship round played out today at Donington Park in the UK. Yesterday saw Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Tito Rabat take part in the free practices, which were conditioned by rain. This morning the Spaniard was back on track for the final practice, placing twenty-first on the still damp surface.

In the subsequent Superpole, Tito improved on his best time of yesterday to set a 1’28”096 with which he placed nineteenth. With this result, he lined up on the seventh row of the grid for the afternoon’s race, which ran in dry conditions.

Having made a good start, Rabat lost many positions at turn one when he moved to avoid two riders that crashed in front of him. Returning to the track at the back of the pack, the Spaniard picked up the pace, making up ground to cross the line sixteenth, just outside the points zone.

An unlucky race, but one that allowed Rabat to build confidence with his Ninja and confirm his continuous progress. Tomorrow he will be back on track for the Superpole Race and Race 2.

Donington Park – UK – Superbike World Championship

Superpole: 1) Rea (Kawasaki) – 2) Bautista (Ducati) – 3) Petrucci (Ducati) – 4) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 5) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 6) Aegerter (Yamaha) ………… 19) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 1: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Rea (Kawasaki) – 4) Petrucci (Ducati) – 5) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 6) Lowes (Kawasaki) …… 16) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “It was a strange race today. In the end I’m pleased with how it went, mainly because we were able to collect a lot of data. I started well but at turn one two riders crashed in front of me. I don’t know how I avoided them but I found myself in last place. I then got into a really strong rhythm that allowed me to pass the riders in the last group and close in on those ahead. I gave it my all and only had to slow in the final stages due to tyre wear. We will continue on in this way and focus on tomorrow’s race. Thanks to my team for their precious support.”

Sunday

Mahias unable to finish Race Two at Donington Park

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing has now completed round six of the Supersport World Championship at Donington Park in the UK in the sixth WorldSSP round. Lucas Mahias, who is standing in for injured Can Oncu, scored an exceptional fourth place finish in Superpole, but was slowed in race 1 by a few set-up issues that only emerged in the race, ultimately crossing the line in eleventh place.

This afternoon, the Frenchman was back on track for the second and final race of this British round. Like yesterday, Mahias lined up on the second row and made a very strong start which allowed him to run with the leading group. Unfortunately, during the course of lap seven, Lucas was hit and pushed off track by another rider (who was then penalized) and returned to the track in fourteenth position. Two laps later, the Frenchman was forced to retire due to a muscle seizure in his right forearm, which was only accentuated when he ran off track.

The next WorldSSP round will take place over the weekend of 14-16 July at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola in Italy.

Donington Park – UK – Supersport World Championship

Race 2 – 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Montella (Ducati) – 3) Caricasulo (Ducati) – 4) Huertas (Kawasaki) – 5) Manzi (Yamaha) – 6) Booth-Amos (Kawasaki) …….. DNF) Mahias (Kawasaki)

Lucas Mahias: “A very difficult race. I made a good start and was fighting at the front when a rider hit me and ran me off track. I ended up on the grass and it was a miracle I didn’t crash. I don’t know if it was caused by that, but shortly after I started to feel pain in the muscles in the right forearm, which seized up. It was too risky to continue in that condition and so I chose to retire. I’m sorry for the team as they’ve worked so hard this weekend and I really wanted to give them a good result.”

Tito Rabat forced to retire from WorldSBK Race Two

The sixth round of the Superbike World Championship concluded today at the Donington Park circuit in the UK. Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Tito Rabat is continuing to build confidence with the ZX-10RR and yesterday, after qualifying nineteenth in Superpole, the rider finished race 1 in sixteenth place after making an incredible recovery from last position, when he took action to avoid two riders who crashed in front of him at the last turn.

This morning the Spaniard was back out for the Superpole Race, which ran over a distance of ten laps.

In the few laps available, Tito was unable to set sufficient pace to be able to make up positions, which meant he crossed the line twentieth.

Race 2 ran in the afternoon but was interrupted by a red flag on lap one following a multi-rider accident. The race soon restarted, and Rabat got away well, the Spaniard lying in around sixteenth place through the first laps. Setting good pace, Tito was making up ground but his race came to a premature end with four laps to go when excessive tyre wear forced him to return to the pits.
The next Superbike World Championship round is scheduled to take place at the Imola circuit in Italy over the weekend of 14-16 July.

Donington Park – UK – Superbike World Championship

Superpole Race: 1) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 2) Bautista (Ducati) – 3) Rea (Kawasaki) – 4) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 5) Petrucci (Ducati) – 6) Lowes (Kawasaki) ………… 20) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 2: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Petrucci (Ducati) – 4) Redding (BMW) – 5) Rea (Kawasaki) – 6) Lowes (Kawasaki) ………. DNF) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “In race 2 we were unlucky. I started well both times and got into a good rhythm that allowed me to close in on the group ahead. At a certain point though, I realized that the tyre had no more grip and I had to pull in. A real pity. The Pirelli technicians are now checking the tyre. But aside from the result, I can say that I’m working really well with the team and hope to take another step forward at the next Imola round, which is a home race for our team.”