HAVE YOUR SAY: Who shone at gloomy Donington?
The 2011 World Superbike Championship is now well underway with the second round at Donington Park serving up some outstanding racing once again.
A pole position and third win for Carlos Checa goes a long way to prove that his dominance in Australia was not just a result of his Althea Ducati being well suited to the Phillip Island venue, the Spaniard proving unflustered either at the front of the field, or fighting his way through it as he did in the opening race.
He shared the spoils with Marco Melandri, the Italian's first WSBK win in only his third race at this level. Possibly the ideal response to Max Biaggi following their pit-lane spat after Superpole, Melandri cooly 'hit back' on the circuit to gain a mental edge over his arch-rival.
As ever, there were plenty of riders to commend at Donington Park, not least Jakub Smrz, who would have been a popular race winner on the Effenbert-Liberty Ducati had the first race been just two laps shorter.
It was a fairly modest day for the British riders, but Leon Camier was a feisty third in race two as he diced with Melandri, while Haslam wrestled a still-improving BMW to two more top five finishes as well.
Though the race results didn't live up to expectations, third on the grid and podium contention in race one suggests Tom Sykes and Kawasaki can be potential front runners this year, while his team-mate Joan Lascorz showed a vast improvement between races to record the bike's first top five finish in race two.
In the Supersport class, Luca Scassa stamped his authority on the competition again, but Chaz Davies and Gino Rea made up for their Phillip Island disappointments by scoring popular podium finishes.
But who stood out for you? Were you at Donington Park and particularly enjoying one rider's efforts on their bike? Who do you think deserves plaudits for their performances?
Use the 'comments' link at the bottom of the page to have your say!
