Biaggi was fined €3000 for the assault and it was Melandri who had the last laugh in the Donington Park race although it was British riders Leon Haslam and Leon Camier that made the front running during the early stages of the British round.

Haslam looked comfortable leading the race for six laps, but could do nothing to compete with the pace of Jakub Smrz who breezed into the lead opening up a two and a half second lead.

Melandri then broke free from the chasing pack to put in some astounding lap times to catch and pass Haslam and mount his assault on Smrz, who he would pass with five laps to go, easily holding on for his first victory in World Superbike.

As Haslam appeared to struggle with the BMW, 2011 round one double race winner Carlos Checa eased his way past and into third in the final lap.

By that time Camier was struggling with fitness and the handling of his bike and ended the race in eigth position, while fellow Brit Tom Sykes crashed out in the late stages while riding a comfortable pace in fourth place.

World Superbike results – Round Two Donington Park – Race One

1. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 34′33.189
2. Jakub Smrz (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 34′35.644
3. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 34′39.028
4. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 34′39.365
5. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 34′42.228
6. Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 34′42.404
7. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 34′43.149
8. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 34′48.049
9. Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 34′48.066
10. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 34′49.371
11. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 34′59.009
12. Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 35′01.567
13. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 35′05.058
14. Roberto Rolfo (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35′13.204
15. Mark Aitchison (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35′33.317
RT. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 25′35.167
RT. Michel Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 24′17.861
RT. Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 7′43.215
RT. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 4′37.934

In Race Two, it was Haslam who again got off to a flier, but it was the Spaniard Carlos Checa, looking as smooth as you like on the Althea Ducati who soon passed and led the rest of the race to earn his third victory out of four races and stretch out a lead on his rivals for the 2011 crown.

Again Melandri and Camier were strong throughout the race, gradually picking up pace and passing Haslam on lap seven.  A mistake by Haslam on lap eight cost him some time and left Camier and Melandri to put some distance between themselves and last years WSB runner up.

There was a decent fight between Camier and Melandri as they fought for second place, the Brit tiring towards the end of the race and finishing in third, three seconds behind the Italian with Checa three seconds further ahead for the win.

Max Biaggi was disqualified from the second race following a jump start on the start line, after not responding to his penalty he was black flagged on lap nine.

World Superbike results – Round Two – Donington Park – Race Two

1. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 34′21.537
2. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 34′24.934
3. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 34′27.439
4. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 34′35.379
5. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 34′35.790
6. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 34′40.950
7. Michel Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 34′41.815
8. Jakub Smrz (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 34′42.697
9. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 34′45.835
10. Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 34′46.444
11. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 34′53.977
12. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 34′54.216
13. Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 34′55.607
14. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 34′57.955
15. Roberto Rolfo (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35′05.574
16. Mark Aitchison (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35′13.949
17. Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 35′18.171
RT. Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1′41.588
EX. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 13′50.189

After scoring maximum points from his dominant performance at Phillip Island in Australia in round one, Carlos Checa will be champing at the bit to get his Althea Ducati back on the track, but how will the Ducati fare on the Donington circuit?

It is fair to say that Checa was in similar form at the same circuit on the opening day of last season although he only managed to win one of the two races on that occasion, but he failed to show anything like that performance throughout the rest of the season.

The rest of the 2011 World Superbike pack led by current World Champion Max Biaggi will be keen to improve on their own points tally, so expect another exciting showdown at Donington Park.

As always there will be TV coverage from British Eurosport throughout the weekend and at this British GP weekend the commentary team will be joined by former champions and fan favourites Carl Fogarty and Neil Hodgson, who have managed five World Superbike titles between them.

It is a welcome return to Donington Park, the scene of the first WSB race 23 years ago, having missed out on last years calendar while improvements were being made to the track.

The last time the championship visited Donington, in 2009, Ben Spies dominated proceedings, winning both races. This time around British fans will be hoping it is one of the five British and Irish riders who triumphs on the newly refurbished circuit. With James Toseland (BMW Motorrad Italia) out with a wrist injury, Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport), Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda), Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia), Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing) will all contest the round.

Live TV coverage starts on British Eurosport 2 at 1445 on Saturday, with commentators Jack Burnicle and James Whitham on-site at Donington to catch up with riders and teams before Superpole qualifying gets underway.

On Sunday from 1115 both Superbike races and the Supersport race will be LIVE on British Eurosport 2, while coverage will also be available in high definition on Eurosport HD. All the action will be LIVE online via Eurosport Player.

TV times for Donington:

Saturday 26 March

1445-1610 LIVE Superpole on British Eurosport 2

Sunday 27 March

1115-1630 LIVE on British Eurosport 2

1130-1200 Superbike Corner (interviews & latest news) on Eurosport HD

1200-1300 LIVE Superbike race one on Eurosport HD

1300-1415 LIVE Supersport race on Eurosport HD

1700-1745 Superbike race two on Eurosport HD

Donington Park

A revised calendar for the 2010 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli has been announced today due to the major changes involving Donington Park which is unable to be included for the coming year.

The Donington Park round due to take place on 10-12 September will now be held at the Croft circuit and on May 21-23 is now being held at the Cadwell Park circuit.

Other changes to the calendar show the Knockhill round has moved to the 2-4 July while the 16-18 July round will be held at the Snetterton circuit.

* – Denotes three BSB races at these events, all others two.

Sylvain Guintoli – Worx Crescent Suzuki 2009

The Worx Crescent Suzuki British Superbike rider Sylvain Guintoli, has extended his contract with the team to once again ride for them in the 2010 season.

Guintoli suffered compound fractures to his right fibula and tibia in a freak, two bike accident on his sighting lap for the first race at Donington Park.  It happened as Guintoli was turning into the Melbourne hairpin, Josh Brookes on the HM Plant Honda arrived at the corner too fast and crashed into the Suzuki.  It was later discovered that it was caused by a failure in the operation of the braking system of the Honda.

Although Guintoli has only managed to complete six round of the British Superbike Championship this season due to his injuries, he was on the podium four times out of the six, one of them being a win, and also had a pole position, proving to himself and the team he was worthy of the contract.

Guintoli said;

“This is the first time in my career I’ve signed a contract this early in the year – I think that shows just how comfortable both sides are with each other. Right now we are working on regaining the competitiveness we showed at the beginning of this season, but as well we know now that the experience that I am gaining at the tracks this year will be something we can carry into next season.

“With the experience we will have of the tracks, of the GSX-R and of working together as a team we can look forward to next year with a lot of optimism.”

The team are now seeking additional funding to allow them to run two bikes in the 2010 season, which they are hoping will be filled by a younger rider to work alongside Guintoli.

Alastair Seeley – Superstock 1000cc Champion 2009

Alastair Seeley took his ninth win of the season at Cadwell Park at the weekend to be crowned the new National 1000cc Superstock Champion.

It is the second British Championship title in the past three-years for the Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing Team, after winning the Supersport series in 2007 with Michael Laverty.

Seeley said;

“I really didn’t expect that this weekend and I didn’t expect Brogan to DNF. I didn’t even know he was out of the race, which I suppose wasn’t a bad thing as I was just concentrating on reeling the laps off. It’s been a great year so far and I just couldn’t fault the effort of the team or the 2009 GSX–R1000. I’m well chuffed for Philip and Hector Neill as they gave me the chance at the start of the year, and also a big thanks to Ian Glen, Suzuki GB and Relentless for putting their faith in me.

Seeley, not only recorded clean sweeps at three rounds of the championship this season on the GSX-R1000, at Donington Park, Brands Hatch and Cadwell Park, but also claimed four circuit lap records.

Sylvain Guintoli 2009

The Worx Crescent Suzuki rider Sylvain Guintoli, is to make his return to the British Superbike Championship next weekend at Cadwell Park.

Guintoli was hit by the HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brookes at the Donington Park round of the championship back in May and suffered a broken right fibula and tibia.

The 27-year-old, tested at Cadwell Park on Tuesday after missing the previous five rounds of the championship while his leg mended.  He is now out of contention for the title he intends to aim for a podium place on every round left this season and has no intention of taking it easy.  Sylvain Guintoli said;

“It’s great to be back, I’ve missed this a lot. I’ve been a long time not on a bike and while I could deal with it at the start, to be honest, it got worse as the time dragged by.

Team Manager Jack Valentine said;

“Sylvain’s passed today’s test with flying colours. We set the bike up just as he last had it and he got on and rode it like he’s never been away. He did 45 laps and at the end he wasn’t even sweating.

His lap times were excellent as well. He’s been away for three months, the track looked decidedly green and he’s only been here once before for a few laps on a road bike, so his pace today was impressive, not exactly lap record, but fast enough to say this is the Sylvain we know and love. We’re really looking forward to the Cadwell races now!”

The American began his career in the late 70’s before reaching the top of the American Road Racing  series in the early 80’s.  He decided to retire from the sport in the Summer of 1982 to concentrate on business commitments.

In 1986, he was talked into coming out of retirement and rode for Suzuki team in the GSXR National Cup series where by the end of the season he had racked-up 45 wins out of 51 races.  He joined the Kosar Racing Team for 1987 and competed in the AMA Superbike championship where he finished in fourth place overall, riding against the likes of Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz.

The American got his big break in 1988 when he was signed by the team Yoshimura R&D of America, allowing him also to ride in it’s parent company Yoshimura of Japan in 1989, seeing him win both of the championships.

Doug then went onto the Ducati team, allowing him to race in not only the World Superbike Championship but also the AMA Championship.  He not only won the World Superbike Championship by 150 points but also made history by winning a record 17 victories during the season and claimed the title of AMA Pro Twins Championship.

Taking the crown for the second year running in the WSB Championship of 1992, he finished third in the AMA Superbike series.

In 1993, Doug rode exclusively for the Ducati Italy squad in the AMA Superbike series and claimed the title with two rounds still to run.

In 1994, Doug was given the chance to ride for the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) on their new RC45 Superbike, finishing fourth in the championship. He only rode a handful of races for the team in the following year.

After leaving the Honda, Doug  joined the Suzuki Endurance Racing team riding a 750cc and also riding a 1100cc in the AMA Superteams series for Team Ebsco Suzuki.   He won the World Endurance Championship of 1997 alongside his team-mate Peter Goddard on the GSXR 750cc.  He won the World Endurance Championship again in 1998 but this time riding for the Honda Racing team on the RC45.

Doug, now 49,  has raced in various events throughout the years and is now offering his services to help others as an instructor at track days and day events in the United States.

Here’s a little clip of Doug winning the 1991 first race at Donington Park;

Chris Burns – MV Agusta

Chris Burns will allegedly be on the grid of the next round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch, on August 7/8/9, for the Jentin Racing Yamaha Team

Burns was signed at the beginning of the season to ride the STP-JHS MV Agusta Team, however, before he had even ridden the machine, the contract ended after delays in getting the bike on track.

The Geordie rider, landed a full-time ride in the German Superbike Championship for this season with the Holzhauer Honda Racing team.  Initially, the former MotoGP rider, was a replacement rider for the injured reigning champion Martin Bauer, but after an impressive 2nd and 4th place at the Sachsenring, he was offered the ride until the end of the season, alongside Bauer and team-mate Michael Schumacher.

There is still no confirmation at this point, but with Michael Schumacher returning to the Formula One series to cover for the injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, and Bauer still recuperating, it leaves Burns as the sole rider for the German Superbike Team making it seem unlikely that they would let him go, however, I didn’t expect to see Schumacher back in F1!

Mallory Park

The next round of the British Superbike Championship will take place at Mallory Park on the 17-19 July and there will be some new faces on the grid standing-in as  replacements for injured riders.

British Superstock Champion Steve Brogan will be on the HM Plant Honda, filling-in for Glen Richards who broke his left femur last weekend at Knockhill.  On Sunday, Richards underwent surgery to have a pin inserted to hold the bone together and is now up and about on crutches.

It is hoped that Richards will be back on the grid before the end of the season, although it has already been decided that Steve Plater will be the replacement at the Brands Hatch round on the 7-9 August and at Cadwell Park on the 29-31 August.

Michael Rutter had been covering for Guintoli until he and the team mutually agreed to end their association after the Knockhill round.

After leaving the Hanspree Honda Althea World Superbike team earlier this season, Tommy Hill is to be the replacement rider for the injured Worx Crescent Suzuki man Sylvain Guintoli at Mallory Park.

Guintoli suffered compound fractures to his right fibula and tibia in a freak, two bike accident on his sighting lap for the first race at Donington Park.  It happened as Guintoli was turning into the Melbourne hairpin, Josh Brookes on the HM Plant Honda arrived at the corner too fast and crashed into the Suzuki.  It was later discovered that it was caused by a failure in the operation of the braking system of the Honda.

Hill will be riding under a one race contract until Guintoli is considered fit enough to return after making a steady recovery so far.

Noriyuki Haga – Ducati Xerox Team 2009

The next round of the World Superbike Championship takes place at Brno in the Czech Republic on the 26th July, and some of the top riders are set to return after suffering injuries in earlier rounds.

The Xerox Ducati ride Noiryuki Haga, is expected to be on the starting grid after his crash in race 2 at the Donington circuit.  He suffered a fracture to his right arm and cracks to his left scapula and spent the next three days in hospital before returning to his home in Milan.

Haga is leading the Championship ahead of Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies, but by a mere 14 points and is eager to get back on his bike and battle with the American.

Suzuki Alstare rider Max Neukirchner, and Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team rider Makoto Tamada were both injured during the same accident at Monza in April, but are now ready to return to work at Brno.

Neukirchner suffered a broken right femur, a double fracture to the fibula and dislocated his foot.  He had to endure a six-hour operation to have a pin inserted into his right thigh while the fibula was left to heal naturally.  The operation was a success and the German rider eventually returned to his home in the back of a camper-van, propped-up by cushions as he was advised not to fly.

Makoto Tamada received a broken wrist in the carnage at the first corner at Monza, after hitting the back of the Brendan Roberts Guandalini Ducati. After further examinations in Japan, Tamada was also found to have fractures in two of his fingers and had to have a wire inserted to stabilise the fractures.  The Japanese rider is now fully recovered from his injuries and is also eager to get back on the grid.