Donington Park in the UK will host the European round of the 2012 Superbike World Championship on Sunday 13 May, just one week after the thrills and spills of Monza. BMW Motorrad Motorsport will travel to the Leicestershire circuit in good shape, especially after Leon Haslam scored his best result on the S 1000 RR to date in Italy, finishing in second place in a dramatic WSBK race and edging closer to that all-important first victory for the team.

“I really enjoy Donington,” said Haslam who will be expecting lots of home support as he only lives about 20 minutes from the circuit and knows it ‘like the back of his hand’. “Last year we had a tough time, as we nearly had a big crash in race two and the conditions weren’t great but I think this year, with the improvements that we have made, I can look forward to racing in front of my home crowd. We will have to wait and see what the weather will be like, but hopefully it will be a lot warmer than last year.

“Donington is renowned for being one of the heaviest braking circuits. You have the first section, which is all fast and flowing with lots of undulations. Then you have the last three or four corners of the track with really heavy braking and tight hairpins so you have a mix of all the different aspects that you need from a circuit. It always produces good races, so I am looking forward to it.”

Interestingly, Haslam’s team-mate Marco Melandri also has a special place in his heart for this racetrack situated in the heart of England as he spent some time living nearby in his MotoGP days, plus the fact that Donington was also the scene of Marco’s first WSBK victory in 2011, where he won race one and came second in race two.

“I really like the track as it is great fun to ride,” says Melandri. “Last year I had my first win in the Superbike World Championship there. The first section is fast and smooth and the last part is all stop and go, and requires hard braking. It is good fun because you have to change rhythm. I think we can enjoy a good race there on our RR, but a lot depends on the weather. I just hope that it will be dry for us.

“Donington is kind of a home race for me. I used to live just a few kilometres from the track, so I have many friends there and good memories. I am looking forward to returning. I was back there for last year's race, but have not lived there since 2009, so I miss the place.”

Donington is one of the UK’s most popular racing circuits and a firm favourite with many riders. Weather has played its part in past results at Donington – not to mention the last two rounds of this year’s WSBK series – and Head of Race Operations Andrea Dosoli will be hoping for some consistency from the elements, so the competitors and motorsport fans can continue to enjoy what has been a fantastic season of racing so far.

“After two race weekends with really unpredictable weather we are now facing the next round where we do not know what conditions will await us,” he said. “Donington is a very special racetrack. The first part is flowing and the last part has a stop-and-go character. We are confident that our RR can perform very well there. We are working in the right direction and have shown this at the last rounds. In the standings, we are not too far away from the top guys so we will do our best to try to be on the podium again in Donington.

“For Leon it will be a special race. He will not only have the full support from the team but also from all the fans. Marco also likes Donington. He used to live nearby in the past and got his first win in SBK there. We expect that both our riders will have good races and are sure that we can perform well over there. We just hope that the weather will be stable and that we will not experience another lottery that prevents us collecting all the points that are possible for us.”

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