Preview: Round 3, Donington Park, UK, 1st April
TEAM ALSTARE SUZUKI LOOKING FOR A DONINGTON REPEAT!
That last time the Superbike World Championship was at Donington
was a tremendous occasion for Team Alstare Suzuki. That was
in 2001, when Italian Pierfrancesco Chili took runner-up spot
in the first race and then followed it up with a sensational
win in the second. Since then the midlands circuit has been
off the calendar, but this year it is back in favour. The
event will be particular noteworthy because it will be a celebration
of the twentieth year of the Superbike World Championship
- and especially important bearing in mind that the first
ever WSBK race took place in Donington.
Although Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Max Biaggi
and Yukio Kagayama are no strangers to Donington, neither
of them have ridden there in a World SBK race. Max has ridden
at Donington in GPs - the last one being in 2005 - and Yukio
last raced there in the 2004 British Superbike Championship.
MAX I like Donington because it is quite
a fast track, but now that I am on Superbike I will have to
learn it all over again. It’s going to feel very different
on my Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 compared to the last bike I
rode there, so we will have to start the first practice trying
to find a good set-up for the bike. We did a lot of work at
the recent Valencia tests and accumulated a lot of information.
Hopefully, we can put it all to good use at Donington and
take some podiums.
YUKIO For me, the last time I raced at Donington
seems a long time ago. That was in BSB, but this time it is
the World Championship and it will be much harder for sure.
At our recent test, my shoulder was still very sore, but now
that I have had some time to rest it, I think it will be in
much better condition for the race. I will not know how strong
it is until first practice, but I am hoping that it will be
OK and not give me too much trouble. I have many fans in England,
so I want to push hard and get a couple of podiums.
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