Mild climate, sun beating on the asphalt of Donington Park circuit and a few high clouds in the sky: the second day of the 7th Round of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was welcomed by weather conditions rather unusual for the typical UK standards.
WorldSBK – FP3, SP2, Race1
Leon Camier rode a solid race at Donington Park, finishing in Top 4 for the second time during this WorldSBK season.
The 29-years old British rider, at his home-track here in Donington Park, got the 8th place on the grid during the Superpole2 session, with a lap time of 1’28.409, preceded by the excellent 3rd time in FP3 early this morning.
When the light went off in Race 1 Leon started fast and managed to pass two riders after the first laps, becoming the group leader in the race for the podium. After a long battle with the World Champion Nicky Hayden, the British rider made the most of his MV Agusta F4 RC and finished with an excellent 4th place, gaining another 13 points in the overall standings.
WorldSSP – FP3, SP1, SP2
A few minutes before the end of Superpole1 Jules Cluzel lost his fast lap because of too much traffic on track. Unfortunately, the number 3 in championship standing has lost his access to Superpole2 for just one position, qualifying 13th (1’31.376); a lap time that in Superpole2 would allow him to start 8th in tomorrow’s race. The teammate Lorenzo Zanetti tried to take full advantage of the improvements made to the setting of the MV Agusta F3 675, going to qualify in 9th position during the Superpole2.
Leon Camier #2 – The feeling in the beginning was really good. I managed to get Torres pretty quickly but the rest of the riders has a pretty similar lap time. Anyway I managed to pass Hayden in the last few laps and it was a great satisfaction. All in all it was a really good race and I am for sure happy of our results.
Jules Cluzel #16 – I was unlucky because I deserved to go in Superpole2. The traffic on the track definitely did not help me, because in this type of qualification, in Superpole2, there are always a lot of people on the track and someone wait for the fastest riders in order to follow them. At the end of the session I did a really fast lap and I felt the bike was starting to be at its limit, so now we have to work hard to find out a way to fix this situation and get back to fight with the top riders.
Lorenzo Zanetti #87 – Maybe it was not the SP2 I hoped for, because compared to the time I did yesterday, which allowed me to stay in top 9, I have improved 0,1s. The guys in the team are working hard and it seems that the road that we found today in qualifying is the right one. Tomorrow I hope to fight for the podium, although much will depend on the pace of the top riders.
