2026 British Superbikes: Donington Park - Practice Results

The first day of action as the British Superbikes Showdown moved onto Donington Park saw Kyle Ryde fastest on Friday, topping Pre-Qualifying to lead the way to Q2.

The championship leader jumped into the top spot in the PQ session with ten minutes remaining, ahead of his rivals on the Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions bike with a lap of 1’ 26.863s, already closing in on lap record pace on day one.

Fellow Ducati rider Scott Redding did all he could to keep his title hopes alive, a close second to Ryde, just 0.169s slower for Hager PBM.

Max Cook was late out of the pits and immediately fast, going straight into the top three for AJN Steelstock bimota with just six minutes left of the session, with all of the top three in the pits as the chequered flag came out, confident in their performances.

Bradley Ray was one of the last riders out on track, picking up a place right at the death to be the top Yamaha for McAMS in fourth.

Ryan Vickers was the best placed Honda in fifth, ahead of Danny Kent on the Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha, the new father picking up sixth in PQ, while also setting his best time early enough to save a tyre for FP3.

Leon Haslam was the very last rider out on track with issues and changes interrupting his Friday in all sessions. The problems looked to have been dealt with, as his handful of laps on track took him to seventh for Moto Rapido Ducati, the last of the five riders still in the Showdown (with Ray, Vickers, Redding and Ryde).

Rory Skinner was eighth quickest on the second Cheshire Mouldings machine, ahead of Christian Iddon in ninth for Sencat Yamaha. Lee Jackson did enough to make the top ten in the third and final session of the day for DAO Racing.

Ilya Mikhalchik, on the sole BMW with ROKiT BMW Motorrad, was the best rookie across all sessions, picking up 11th in PQ, with the final direct Q2 place going to Glenn Irwin, just holding onto 12th on the second Nitrous bike.

bimota’s rookie Joe Talbot just missed out after Haslam put in his lap, dropping to 13th, so will be hoping to move up from Q1 and fix his bike issues before Saturday’s sessions.

After a strong start to the day Josh Brookes also didn’t quite make the cut in 15th on the second DAO bikes, with fellow countryman Jason O’Halloran just ahead and also out of luck in 14th for Honda UK. Bathams AJN Ducati rider Storm Stacey had a session to forget in 18th.

 
Full results from Donington Park BSB PQ:

Official British Superbike Donington Park Records:

BSB lap record: Glenn Irwin 1’ 26.832s (Ducati, 2025)
Pole record: Kyle Ryde 1’ 26.123s (Ducati, Q2, 2026)

Round 2:

Qualifying: 1 Kyle Ryde (2 Max Cook, 3 Scott Redding)
Race 1: 1 Scott Redding (2 Max Cook, 3 Kyle Ryde)
Race 2 (sprint): 1 Kyle Ryde (2 Scott Redding, 3 Max Cook)
Race 3: 1 Kyle Ryde (2 Scott Redding, 3 Max Cook)

FP2

Back on track, FP2 saw Redding and Vickers swap places from FP1, with Redding now ahead thanks to a late change, with Vickers only 0.187s slower.

Ryde had been leading the session before the duo both topped the timesheets towards the end, happy to stay sat in the pits for the final minutes, in a comfortable third.

Cook was fourth, with Ray inside the top five, ahead of O’Halloran in sixth after he picked up the pace following around team-mate Vickers.

Mikhalchik was the top rookie in the session in 11th, this time with the next nearest newcomer as Eugene McManus in 14th, the only faller in the session after a spill at the Old Hairpin.

The momentum for Brookes from FP1 did not hold, with the Australian now down in 19th after trying settings and changes, coupled with a tyre issue on his DAO bike. Leon Haslam completed five laps, but they were all classed as in or out laps, so he finished with no time set.

FP2 Results:

FP1

The first session saw Vickers solo lap finish quickest, just ahead of Redding, who improved while circulating with Fraser Rogers.

The duo had half a second over the rest, with a welcome return to the top of the timing screens for Brookes in third, closely followed by Cook who finished his session in the pit, and the long-term session leader Glenn Irwin, who held the top spot until the closing stages despite a fall at the Old Hairpin early on.

Ryde was sixth, ahead of Stacey, who made a leap into the top five during the quietest time on track, only dropping back as far as seventh, with Ray eighth. Skinner and Jackson completed the early top ten.

Both of the highest placing rookies ended the session in the pits, with Mikhalchik 14th and Talbot 16th.

FP1 Results: