Round Two. Donington Park Leicestershire.

The team turned up at our local track, quietly confident. Max had come away from the official pre-season test heading the field and we’d had a very positive and competitive championship round one at Oulton Park. We now knew beyond doubt that our new bimota KB998 Riminis – with their trusty Kawasaki ZX-10RR engines – were fully competitive in the hands of Max Cook and our up-and-coming rookie Joe Talbot.

The new V4RS Ducatis weren’t present at the pre-season test. Now they were here and in the hands of champions Ryde and Redding, so we knew the level of competition would be that much higher. Ray on the Yamaha and dominant at the event last year would be in contention too. A tough challenge but Max and Joe couldn’t wait to get going.

Free practice testing

The new format for free practice in the form of non-competitive test sessions on Friday afternoon is a big help for the teams. No pressure on the riders to set a lap time and an opportunity for the teams to test new parts and set ups without worrying about things not working out.

Cool, dry conditions with just a light wind. Chilly on the pit wall but good for the riders. The first session lasts an hour and Joe and Max were comfortable getting up to speed over 20 or so laps. Both running with the front group and posting near identical lap times in the high 1 minute 27 second bracket. Things warmed up on the timesheets if not the weather for the second session. Just half an hour this time. Max P1 – 1.26.8 just a fraction faster than the race lap record and a couple of hundredths from Redding’s fastest ever qualifying lap. Joe a creditable P6 with a best lap in 1.27.6.

The bikes were working well and only needed small chassis and engine mapping changes to adapt to the conditions and make the riders comfortable. All set for the serious business to begin.

Pre-qualifying

25 minutes to set a time to determine the qualifying running order on Saturday. Top 12 go straight through to Q2. The remaining riders go in Q1 with the three fastest joining the Q2 group. Initially Max sat it out, planning to make his first run once the track had cleared. Redding following the same strategy. Max only completed six laps, setting his fastest time second time around – 1.26.7 – inside the all-time lap record. Ryde made two runs and on his sixth lap just pipped Max’s time by 0.083! P1 and P2. Joe also improved on his fastest time to post a 1.27.4 for P11 and secured a place in Q2.

Things were building up nicely, especially at the front where Max and Kyle were pushing each other onto faster times.

Qualifying

Uneventful 10-minute free practice warm up first thing in the morning. Checking out any overnight changes before qualifying.

As always, the aim is to qualify in the top six, the first two rows of the grid. Unfortunately, we got off to a disappointing start when Joe went down exiting Goddards hairpin onto the start straight. Bit too ambitious on the throttle before he was fully out of the corner, trying to stay with Ray as a target. The real pity was he didn’t complete the lap so didn’t record a time. He’d have to start P15 from the fifth row of the grid with work to do. Always tricky being out of position in the pack.

Meanwhile, Max and Ryde continued their battle for top honours and pole position. Just 15 minutes track time. Max posted his fastest time yet second time around with Redding going a shade faster a few minutes later. Max pushed again on his sixth lap and posted a 1.26.2 – half a second inside the lap record – to go back to the top. Two minutes later with the session drawing to a close, Ryde pulled the pin recording a 1.26.1, a tenth and half faster than Max with the two of them comfortably P1 and P2 with Redding making up the front row with them.

Max running toe-to-toe with current champion Ryde and former champion Redding. All set up for some very fast, very close racing.

Race one. Result Max P2 Joe P13

Only issue ahead of the race was what the weather apps were saying about the possibility of rain at race time.

20 lap feature race under threatening skies. If it rained towards the end of the race the key thing might be positions at the two-thirds distance when result can be called in the event of a race being red flagged. Max got a flyer of a start from the middle of the front row and used his speed down through Craner Curves to open a decent lead halfway around the first lap. Ryde and Redding in hot pursuit. As the race settled down, the three of them started to pull well clear of the chasing pack. The lap counter seemed unusually slow as Max started to eek out a comfortable lead - 0.7 after 12 laps at the front. Might not sound like much of a gap but at this level it’s a decent lead.

But all the time spots of rain were building up on the riders’ visors. Always seems worse than it is at the speed they’re going at but after four laps of intermittent drizzle, the rain flags were out around the circuit. Leading in tricky in these conditions and Max started to make sure he kept off the kerbs which would become slippery. Giving up a few tenths of a second allowed Ryde and Redding to close up. On lap 14 – two thirds distance – they both passed Max who was then able to hang on using them as markers.

By lap 18, two to go, the drizzle was really starting to build. Max had dropped off a bit, but as the rain intensified Ryde ran deep at the Melbourne Loop and Max reclaimed P2, right with Redding. Over the line to start lap 19 and the rain became too much for slick tyres and entering turn one, Redgate, the red flag came out. That was it, second place for Max, less than a second behind Redding. First BSB podium for the bimota KB998 Rimini!

Starting from deep in the field on the fifth row, we knew Joe would have a difficult race, unable to use the full potential of his bike and he was in one battle after another. That said, no disgrace in dicing with Brookes and Glenn Irwin for P13. Not what he wanted but all good experience.

Race two. Result Max P3 Joe P13

Max and Ryde set the pace again in the brief morning warm up sessions. Lap times a bit slower than expected as the track was ‘green’ having been washed by the overnight rain. It would be another front row start for Max based on his race one best lap time – P3. Joe back on the fifth row again, P15.

Max’s 100^th British Superbike Championship race! 12 lap sprint race so no need to worry about tyre wear. This time it was Redding who got the hole shot, leading into Redgate with Max battling with Ryde for P2 which he won, only for Ryde to make his way past going on to lap three. It was then a race to the flag. Ryde passed Redding on lap five and really put that hammer down, pulling away for a convincing victory. Max couldn’t stay with Redding but Ray behind him couldn’t get close enough to make a move, so Max crossed the line in a comfortable third place for his second podium finish of the weekend.

Joe had another tough one. Finished P13 but again up against much more experienced riders, Vickers on the official Honda only a second or so ahead of him.

Race three. Result Max P3 Joe DNF

Second feature race of the weekend. 20 laps again and with tyre wear in the back of everyone’s mind. Weather looking a bit iffy too. In fact the start was delayed as earlier races had been stopped for rain. Fortunately, by the time the race was due to start the track was dry all the way around.

Max from the middle of the front row, Joe back in P16. Uneventful race for Max but not so Joe. Through the Foggy Esses on lap two, chasing Andrew Irwin hard, Joe ran a bit wide on the exit and unsettled the bike. Bars moving from side to side in a classic tank-slapper pushed back his front brake pads so when he hit the lever, initially there was nothing there. Unable to slow quickly he couldn’t avoid hitting Irwin and taking both down at the Melbourne Loop. Difficult end to a tough weekend. The incident earned him a three-place grid penalty for race one at the next round as race control held him responsible for taking out Irwin.

Max got away P2 following Ryde. A brief safety car period on laps five and six closed up the field but Max managed to hold position at the restart. A lap later Redding did manage to get by. After that, Max kept Ryde and Redding in sight but at a bit of a distance. His main challenge was from behind from last year’s winner Ray on the Yamaha. At one point the gap was down to 0.3 but Max kept clicking off laps making up time in the fast corners but losing out a bit in the stop-start section of the track. At the line Max was 1.5 clear of Ray with Redding nearly two seconds up the road and Ryde off into the distance. All good enough for another podium finish.

So, weekend to remember for Max with three podium finishes and proving beyond doubt that our bimotas are right on the pace. Weekend to forget for Joe after his round one heroics at Oulton Park. He’ll be back stringer for the experience and expect to see him in the mix next time out.

Championship standings

Max P5 on 73 points, two behind Ray. Joe P13 on 22 points. The AJN Steelstock bimota team is fifth in the standings, just 12 points behind second place but with Ryde’s team already someway ahead in the standings.

Next time

Four weeks break now while the TT is on. Then it’s off to Scotland and the picturesque Knockhill circuit, overlooking the Firth of Forth. Glorious location if the weather is kind, not quite so if a storm blows in!

Max will be keen to show his Donington performance wasn’t a one-off and we know Joe will be even more determined than ever to show his true pace.

Hope to see you there.

Regards. Nigel, Team Principle.