Donington Park Back in World Superbike

Henny Ray Abrams | November 15, 2010

Donington Park is back on the World Superbike calendar after an agreement was reach to host the European round of the championship from 2011 through 2013.The circuit in the British Midlands had been taken off the calendar for 2010 by new owners who wanted to convert it to a first class Formula One circuit. But those plans came to nothing and ownership reverted to the previous owners, who were only too happy to put it back on the schedule.The race will run as the second round of the championship on March 25-27, 2011. The traditional British round of the championship doesn’t run until the final weekend of July at Silverstone. The last time the UK had two rounds of the series was in 2008 when Brands Hatch and Donington ran five weeks apart at the end of the summer.Donington Park hosted the very first round of the FIM Superbike World Championship on April 3, 1988. The races were won by Davide Tardozzi (Bimota) and Marco Lucchinelli (Ducati). The most recent round was run on June 28, 2009 with Ben Spies (Yamaha) winning both rounds.”It was always my father’s dream and since his death at the end of last year, I always wanted to provide a world class event in his memory,” Kevin Wheatcroft, chairman of the re-instated Donington Park Racing Limited, whose father was the legendary circuit owner Tom Wheatcroft, said.Said Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports, official promoter of the FIM Superbike World Championship, “We are extremely pleased to bring SBK back to Donington Park for the European Round of the Championship. The Leicestershire circuit is where the Championship began its history 23 years ago and has hosted many successful rounds of our series over the years. Thanks to the presence of many competitive British riders both in the Superbike and Supersport classes, we are sure that the 2011 event will attract many fans and will be a huge success.”