MV Agusta’s Leon Camier topped the World Superbike free practice timesheets for the first time this season, after successfully edging fellow Brit, Kawasaki Racing’s Tom Sykes on the FP1 timesheets at Donington Park this morning.
The Kent man lapped in 1’29.314 and soared straight to the top of the timing-screens with three minutes remaining to the first free practice outing. The Reparto Corse rider went 0.035 seconds quicker than Sykes, who had to settle for second fastest, with Aruba.it Ducati’s Davide Giugliano rounding up the top three.
Initially with 30 minutes remaining to the session it was the Welsh wizard Chaz Davies who was leading the way from Sykes, Badovini and Camier. On the stroke of the seventeenth minute the rather tall rider, Camier went up to third quickest on the sheets with a 1’29.827.
With less than ten minutes to FP1 Sykes put down a 1’29.349 to topple Davies off the top of the timing screens, going 0.03 seconds faster than the Powys-based rider. But Camier was not down and out and with a handful of minutes left lapped a 1’29.314 to bag P1 from Sykes. In the end Aruba.it Ducati’s Davies fell back to fourth quickest with a 1’29.377 with Kawasaki Racing’s Jonathan Rea rounding up the top five – with his best time a, 1’29.682.
Hometown hero Red Devils Aprilia’s Leon Haslam is suffering from one broken, and two cracked ribs after a crash at Imola, but he still managed to put down a quite a few laps, sixteen to be precise and set the seventh fastest time – a 1’30.044.
But three minutes into the opening free practice session the red flags appeared after Grillini SBK Team’s Niccolo Canepa’s engine went bang and dropped oil all the way down the Wheatcroft Straight and came to an abrupt stop at Redgate.
Reigning champion, Pata Honda’s Sylvain Guintoli had to settle for eighth on the sheets, with Salom and former MCE British Superbike rider, Matteo Baiocco completing the top ten. Derby-based, Voltcom Suzuki’s Alex Lowes narrowly missed out on a spot in the top ten by one tenth of a second and ended FP1 eleventh fastest.
