SBK Donington FP1: Honda starts complaining again; the riders are nowhere

Still perfectly overlapping with MotoGP, Superbike stages the eighth of the twelve scheduled rounds at Donington Park (GB), the last before the very long summer break. We resume, just for a change, with Nicolò Bulega setting the fastest time in the first practice session.

There’s no peace in the Honda HRC garage: Jake Dixon, already battered by a preseason injury and almost always absent so far, went down at Coppice after just eight minutes of practice. No physical damage for the former Moto2 rider, while the CBR-RR was destroyed. Somkiat Chantra, the other HRC factory rider, got stuck in twentieth position: he has never raced here, but that’s far too little for a former MotoGP rider. It’s telling that in the hands of a superstar—Jonathan Rea—the same Honda peeked into the top ten (ninth time), just six tenths off leader Bulega and the untouchable Ducati. We’re talking about a six-time world champion, but now a former WorldSBK regular who’s taken on the role of tester. The momentum from triumphing for the third time in the Suzuka 8 Hours last Sunday continues. But the verdict is clear: before discussing technical issues, Honda is missing two riders up to the task.

The Italian brand continues its centenary celebrations, indifferent to those struggling to climb back up. Nicolò Bulega opened the British weekend by putting himself at the top of the timesheets. The records are still a way off, but for now he’s once again leading the train of the top three Ducatis. Behind him, as usual, are Iker Lecuona and Sam Lowes, with the Marc VDS Ducati returning to the track after the passing of its owner, Marc van der Straten, a few days ago.

In recent years at Donington, BMW had been wreaking havoc with Toprak Razgatlioglu able to corner Nicolò Bulega, who in fact has never won here. Without the Turk, it’s worse than wandering in the night: Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira are outside the top fifteen, miles off the Panigale. And Yamaha? The YZF-R1’s crisis borders on a psychodrama: their lead rider, Andrea Locatelli, sits third from last. And to think that at Suzuka, five days ago, he made life extremely difficult for Honda and His Majesty Jonathan Rea. The situation is surreal.

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