Bautista, Rinaldi, and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Panigale V4R in England for the UK Round. Bulega will also be on track tomorrow in WorldSSP

  The UK Round represents the midway point of the Superbike World Championship season. Starting tomorrow morning at the Donington circuit (UK), it will be the sixth round of the season before returning to Italy in two weeks time at Imola.

Álvaro Bautista firmly holds the lead in the WorldSBK standings with an 86-point advantage over Razgatlioglu (Yamaha).

Coming off the Misano weekend where he secured his fifth podium of the season, Michael Rinaldi will fight to get his first victory of 2023.

The first free practice sessions of the UK Round will take place tomorrow at 11:30 AM (CEST). Saturday’s Race-1 will start at 3:00 PM (CEST), while Sunday will feature the Superpole Race at 2:00 PM (CEST) and Race 2 at 5:00 PM (CEST).

Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #1)
"It's been almost a month since the Misano round, during which we achieved positive results. In these weeks, I had the opportunity to spend time with my family and train. I also had a lot of fun riding the Desmosedici GP at Misano. But now, it's time to focus exclusively on the championship. Donington is a beautiful but challenging track. I'm curious to see how the new asphalt is. Our goal is to quickly regain the feeling we had up to this point in the season. We're going without specific expectations but with a strong desire to work and be as competitive as possible."

Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #21)
"I'm very happy to be back on track. It was quite a long break, and I'm eager to regain the feeling with my bike. I'm really looking forward to riding at Donington and testing the new asphalt. There were many bumps and undulations that the English riders were familiar with. Now, with the new surface and probably better grip, it could be an advantage for those ones who race on this circuit only during race weekends. I'm coming off a positive weekend at Misano, although I could have achieved more. But we are having good feelings and speed: we just need to reap the rewards of our work."
 

• WorldSSP

WorldSSP is also returning to the track. Nicolò Bulega's goal is to defend the championship lead (196 points, 36 more than Manzi - Yamaha).

Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WSSP #11)
"I'm very excited to go to Donington because it's a circuit that I really like. I've heard that the new asphalt is very good, and for this reason, I can't wait to get on track. I hope to have fun, to have a good weekend, to be fast, and to score many points."