World Superbike crosses the Channel to take on the Donington circuit in England. This is the homeland of factory derivative bikes in terms of passion, as demonstrated by the thousands of fans that turn out every year to challenge the proverbial unpredictable weather to cheer on their heroes. All the more reason this year, with English riders occupying the top spots of the overall standings.

The pack of Brits includes Team Aprilia Racing – Red Devils rider, Leon Haslam, a true home town hero and contender for the championship title. The rider from Ealing, who lives just a few kilometres from the track, is coming from a crash in race 2 at Imola. Leon, currently lying second in the Championship standings, will have a medical check-up on Thursday to verify his conditions in view of the weekend. In any case his recovery seems to be going well and the tough English rider has already confirmed that he will be participating in his home race.

Leon Haslam:

“I can't wait for Donington, it's my home race and the only chance I get to race in front of my home fans. It's also a track I know very well and should suit the Aprilia. I have to wait and see how my injury is but I'm confident it will not affect me. Also I know the team has been working really hard to improve the bike, so I'm excited to test the new components”.

The podium finish at Imola, his first in his young SBK career, has Jordi Torres pumped up, determined to confirm the level of competitiveness that he demonstrated on the Italian track. The gap behind the leaders was reduced on the complex track on the banks of the Santerno which the Spaniard was tackling for the first time. The situation will be the same at Donington and for Torres it represents the most critical point of his rookie season in Superbike. The Spanish rider is trying to learn the ins and outs of the English track and he is analysing it by splitting it into two parts. The first part, fast and smooth, seems to suit his riding style well and it favours the characteristics of the RSV4, whereas the abrupt braking sections toward the end are one of the aspects where Jordi still needs to improve.

Jordi Torres:

“I'm very motivated after the podium at Imola. We want to stay in the top positions. Donington Park is a new circuit for me but it is very different than Imola. The first two parts seem to suit us, both for the RSV4 RF and for my riding style, whereas the last section is where we'll need to improve: tight turns and abrupt braking sessions. I know that it will be difficult playing on the English riders' home pitch, so we'll need to give it our all because they are always very fast. To prepare for the new track I'm still watching a lot of videos and playing on the simulators in order to streamline the learning process as much as possible.”