Kawasaki have not stood on the top step of the podium since Race One in Australia last year. However, they have started strong this weekend at Donington Park.

The usual suspects in the WorldSBK paddock have found themselves inside the top ten. However, the Friday morning Practice session at Donington Park has thrown a few names into the mix who normally would be counted out before the weekend even began.

Jonathan Rea ended the first practice session with a lead of 0.052 seconds ahead of old title rival, Toprak Razgatlioglu. The British and Turkish rider have been on the back foot all season when trying to fight Ducati and Alvaro Bautista, but a good start at Donington Park will have their hopes high for the weekend ahead.

The top Ducati in the Friday morning session was surprisingly not Bautista. Instead Philipp Oettl found his way to third place in the session. The GoEleven Ducati rider has been seemingly invisible all year long and has had no notable results this season as of yet.

Alex Lowes found himself in fourth place with his spirits high after re-signing with Kawasaki for next season. The British rider will want to impress his home fans after putting pen to paper on his new deal.

The second surprise result, but a welcome one, was Bradley Ray in fifth place after the opening session of the weekend. The WorldSBK rookie has track knowledge at Donington Park and has his sights set on a top ten finish this weekend.

With three British riders in a row Tom Sykes found himself as the top BMW rider on Friday morning as he rounded out FP1 sixth overall. After a retched start to 2023 the former WorldSBK Champion is hoping to step up on the podium at some point this weekend.

The Aruba.it Racing - Ducati duo were surprisingly low after the opening session of the weekend. Bautista was down in seventh place and Michael Ruben Rinaldi was just behind his team-mate in eighth place.

Andrea Locatelli finished FP1 in ninth place and will want to bounce back after a poor home round last time out at Misano.

Rounding out the top ten was the top Honda rider. Iker Lecuona is back to WorldSBK action after a weekend of MotoGP action last week at Assen with the Repsol Honda squad.

>>> 2023 WorldSBK Championship standings <<<