2008 Hannspree World SuperBike Championship Round 11, Donington Park, UK, September 7th Race Report

  BAYLISS AND KIYONARI TAKE A WIN APIECE AT DONINGTON PARK

An estimated 45,000 die hard race fans braved the harsh wet conditions for round eleven of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship at Donington Park in Leicestershire to see Troy Bayliss ride for the last time aswell as the wild card riders of HM Plant Honda's Leon Haslam and Cal Crutchlow, Rizla Suzuki's Tom Sykes and Hydrex Bike Animal Honda's James Ellison and now world superbike regular Vent-Axia VK Honda's Chris Walker who is always a crowd favourite at the Donington Park circuit.

Race One. After taking pole position in saturday's twelve lap shoot-out Xerox Ducati's Troy Bayliss took his first ever win at Donington Park in fine style with wild card rider Rizla Suzuki's Tom Sykes in a brilliant second and Sterilgarda Go-Eleven Ducati's Max Biaggi in third. The race was full of incidents as only after ten laps Yamaha Motor Italia's Nori Haga's machine dumped oil onto the circuit causing a 30 minute delay before a restart with many a crashes throughout the race seeing the likes of Vent-Axia VK Honda's Chris Walker, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari, Sterilgarda Go-Eleven Ducati's Ruben Xaus, Yamaha Motor Italia's Troy Corser, Xerox Ducati's Michel Fabrizio, Alstare Suzuki's Max Neukircher and HM Plant Honda's Leon Haslam all being caught out by the wet slippery conditions of Donington Park.

Race Two. The second race of the day was deemed a dry race but after the riders done their sighting lap on slick tyre the heavens opened up for twenty minutes and it was then declared a wet race as all riders changed tyres to suit the wet dangerous circuit. After crashing out of race one while leading Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Ryuichi took his third win of the season ahead of wild card rider HM Plant Honda's Cal Crutchlow and Yamaha Motor Italia's Troy Corser taking third and moving upto to second in the championship behind Troy Bayliss who crashed out of the race while lying in second behind Kiyonari at one of the fastest corners on the circuit but was unhurt from the crash and able to rejoin the race but had to retire due to the damage to his machine. After eleven rounds of the championship completed the standings now sit at Bayliss 359, Corser, 258, Neukirchner 254, Checa 240, Haga 230, Nieto 192, Biaggia, 192, Kiyonari 190, Fabrizio 172, Xaus 156.

WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP. Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda rider Josh Brookes took his first win of the season ahead of the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's of Andrew Pitt and Johnny Rea. Josh who started from fiftheenth on the grid battled his way through the pack to fight with the Hannspree Ten Honda's of Rea and Pitt but it was on the penultimate lap where Brookes made his move on his fellow countryman Pitt to take the lead and bring it home for the Stiggy Motorsports team. The champioship standings now sit at Pitt 169, Brookes 137, Rea 133, Parkes 119.