World Superbike’s resident Wild Turkey Toprak’s results have been on the rocks this year. But at Donington, he produced a neat treble.
Toprak Back
The reigning champ suddenly looked like his old self at Donington. He won the treble and generally crushed his rivals. He could still hold onto that number 1 plate. It meant that the alcohol-averse star got plenty of exercise running away from the cheap bubbly being sprayed by the other podium dwellers.
Scott Slithers to 3rd
Another rider whose lucky number was 3 at Donington was Scott Redding. With a new swingarm swinging away beneath him, he discovered the best way to ride the wayward BMW. Sideways. It got him onto the bottom step of the podium.
Johnny Rea Closes on Title Lead
No wins for Johnny Rea, but he is still marching towards the lead of the world title. (His fans do enjoy a good march, apparently).
El Hairpin de Muerte
The first ever World Superbike race took place at Donington. Since then, hundreds of WSBK riders have raced around the track. Literally every single one of them has crashed at the last turn, Goddards.
It’s a hairpin that gives riders more chances of crashing than any other corner on the calendar. They can lose it on the brakes over one of the big bumps, or mid-corner on the big bumps and changes of tarmac. Even if they get 99% of the way round, they can still launch themselves to the moon like Jules Cluzel did in Supersport with a bone-crunching highside right on the exit.
WSBK Championship leader Alvaro Bautista chose Goddards to crash out of the first race and landed with a stylish faceplant that let Johnny Rea take a chomp out of his points lead. Examining the surface minutely with his visor pressed against the tarmac, he was able to choose a new racing line for the next two races that at least kept him on board.
World Supersport: Unpredictable Races, Predictable Winner
The WSS class again gave some great racing, even though Domi Aegeter won as always. It’s a bit like the 990 era of MotoGP when Rossi was winning everything but it was still fun because he didn’t just clear off in a boring Stoner-style lights to flag victory, but hung around to beat up his rivals first. The middleweights might not be up to the old axe-murderer standards just yet, but they’re certainly up to the butcher knife category.
Next race
The next WSBK race is at Most in the Czech Republic. Will it be entertaining? Last time the series visited Most, Toprak bossed while Johnny Rea lost, so fingers crossed.