Our pre-pandemic photo of Donington Park’s race Sunday, when it had rained heavily the day before. On one of the world’s most beautiful tracks, the record world champion is hoping for his first worry-free weekend after switching from Kawasaki to Yamaha. However, the start was extremely unpromising.

Bad start for Rea in the home weekend

Yamaha newcomer Jonathan Rea spent most of the first free practice session in his box while work was being done on his Yamaha R1. It is now understandable why many WSBK fans and observers are firmly convinced that the Northern Irishman and the factory team in blue are not a good fit and that nothing will come of it. The fact that so much worthless time was missed probably only played a minor role in the false start to his most important round of the season. It began with a lot of bad luck with crashes and injuries, although fortunately without serious consequences. The fact that his team, in cooperation with him, is now also unable to provide the 6-time record world champion with a well-prepared motorcycle for FP1 is causing even his competitors in the paddock to frown. His former brand colleague Toprak Razgatlioglu, on the other hand, had set the best time on Friday morning straight away despite a training injury before travelling to England. The differences between the two formerly toughest opponents could hardly be more stark at the moment, while what is probably the worst season in Johnny Rea’s career is currently only in its second third.

Our 2019 photo of the WorldSBK podium in Donington after the first race on Saturday. From left, the outstanding winner Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki), second-placed Tom Sykes (BMW), Leon Haslam (Kawasaki, P3) and Loris Baz (Yamaha, P4). Bautista crashed in heavy rain in Turn 6 after 10 laps, while Rea had literally flown away from his pursuers right from the start and won convincingly.

Strange game of the two-time reigning world champion

Alvaro Bautista’s cat-and-mouse game over the possible continuation of his career is causing head-shaking and little understanding, and not only in the paddock. The Spanish diminutive is deliberately and apparently very stubbornly blocking all transfer negotiations between various teams and other riders, as well as of course the decision for the Ducati factory team should he decide to retire after this season. Possibly as his revenge for 2019, when Ducati, according to him, refused to give him an extension that he considered acceptable after missing out on the title due to many self-inflicted crashes. Alvaro therefore unexpectedly switched to the Honda factory team and, despite his fast motorcycle, was only seen as a supporting actor in WorldSBK for two years from a sporting point of view. Two third places were the best of the feelings in 2020 and 2021, while Scott Redding shone on his factory Ducati, especially in his first year with the Reds, and challenged Rea in the title fight until the finale in Estoril.

Kawasaki ace Alex Lowes in conversation with Jonathan Rea’s former crew chief Pere Riba, who is now responsible for him. After the departure of the 6-time world champion, the Englishman seems to have reached his peak and with 4th place in the interim classification after Misano he underlines his new role as team leader quite impressively. After 2 wins in Australia and two podium places in Assen and Misano (both in the sprint), the podium for Donington Park is his goal.

Loss of a semi-factory team casts dark shadows

At least as unfortunate as Bautista’s questionable behavior in terms of sport and team spirit is the announcement of the resignation of BMW’s customer factory team Bonovo Action, published the day after the fourth round in Misano. The blue and white team has already made it clear through its Dutch manager Marc Bongers that for this reason there will no longer be a second BMW factory team, as Bonovo Action was called. Unsurprisingly, however, the BMW manager left open what would happen to Scott Redding, who even has a contract with the German manufacturer until 2025 and whose teammate Garrett Gerloff is to be. While the Englishman waits for a solution from BMW, the Texan will probably have to look for a new team. With his more than convincing performance in FP1 on Friday morning, Gerloff is likely to have made a big impression on at least many teams whose places for 2025 have not yet been definitively filled. With the exception of Toprak and the surprising Ducati private rider Danilo “Petrux” Petrucci, Garrett left all of his competitors behind in the first free practice session, including, of course, numerous factory riders.

Scott Redding (BMW M-1000RR) photographed by us after the first race in Misano and his fifteenth place. For the second time in a row, the future of the 2020 vice world champion is uncertain in 2024. These question marks definitely weigh on every driver and his transfer to the BMW semi-works team after the surprise signing of Toprak was also a tough nut to crack for the man with the number 45.

Conclusion of the first day at Donington Park

Before the first day of the Donington weekend, it seems questionable whether any competitor will be able to seriously threaten the three-time winner of the fourth WSBK round in Misano. Toprak is currently riding a wave as if everything is going well for him and even a foot injury from training does not seem to be slowing down the exceptional Turkish talent. The senseless and highly questionable PR theater of his manager Kenan Sofuoglu, whom Razgatlioglu even joined when the two publicly announced a move to MotoGP as conceivable, has now been sheepishly called off. This was only logical, as a two-year contract with BMW was signed in 2024, which even Toprak cannot simply withdraw from at will. In addition, his manager imagines that he will insist on a factory team in the event of a possible move to the Prototype World Championship, which was interpreted by the majority of fans and in the paddock as a sign of megalomania. Now the clear favorite in the WorldSBK title fight, they will have to concentrate on the fight for the world championship and a continuation next year. And that’s a good thing. Jonathan Rea, on the other hand, has completely different problems. He deserves it if he can finally get out of his slump this weekend and finally seriously get involved in the fight for the podium.

As feared, the overall time of only 12th best of the day dampened the expectations of Johnny Rea and his team. The number 65 will have to improve on Saturday, while everything is currently going according to plan for Toprak and he is considered the top favorite for the coming weekend with the fifth round of the WorldSBK. Alvaro Bautista, on the other hand, should not be written off just yet, despite P6 and a slight crash over the front wheel in P2.
Our recording of the victory celebration after the third race in Misano, when Toprak inflicted perhaps the most painful defeat of the season on the Ducati competition on the BMW. At their home race, of all places, the Turk gave the Reds no chance in all three races. The clear goal for Razgatlioglu is to repeat this hat trick in Donington Park.

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© WorldSBK).