The Bennetts British Superbike Championship returned to Donington Park for round eight of the season, and it was Scott Redding who set the pace on Friday. The former champion, back in the BSB paddock and eager to re-establish himself, ended the opening day fastest overall after two practice sessions that featured plenty of strategy and contrasting approaches.
With this weekend featuring an additional race, the BSB schedule has been adjusted slightly, encouraging teams to experiment with their run plans across Friday. Redding, back in familiar territory on the Hager PBM Ducati, used the opening session to put in a long sequence of laps and get comfortable again around Donington. That methodical approach paid off in FP2 when he delivered a 1m 27.454s lap — one of many quick laps strung together with impressive consistency. His pace was enough to give him control of the timesheets heading into Saturday’s qualifying.
For much of FP2, Redding held an advantage of around half a second over the field, but in the closing stages Danny Kent brought himself into the mix. Riding for McAMS Yamaha, the former Moto3 World Champion got within 0.102s of the benchmark, showing the Yamaha camp has plenty of speed in reserve.
Kyle Ryde ensured local fans had something to cheer about. The Nottinghamshire rider had been on top in FP1 with his Nitrous Competitions Yamaha and, after a quieter second session, popped up late on to take third overall. It was a strong way to close the day at his home circuit, where he is defending his BSB crown.
Honda Racing UK’s Andrew Irwin continued his run of solid performances, again inside the sharp end of the times. He finished just ahead of Christian Iddon, who has spoken positively about the revised weekend format and was the best of the Kawasaki representatives in fifth for AJN Steelstock.
Moto Rapido Ducati’s Leon Haslam slotted into seventh, just half a second down on Redding, while teammate Max Cook had a more isolated day in eighth after circulating largely alone on the second AJN Steelstock machine. Tommy Bridewell could manage no better than ninth despite his Cadwell Park progress last time out, and Josh Brookes — second in FP1 — rounded out the top ten for DAO Racing after failing to improve in line with his rivals later in the day.
Further back, Rory Skinner enjoyed a brief spell at the top of the order before settling for 11th with the Cheshire Mouldings Ducati. Bradley Ray endured another frustrating outing. After missing FP1 entirely due to mechanical issues, his Raceways Yamaha crew were still on the back foot in FP2 and left the reigning British Superbike Champion 12th on the timesheets.
Scott Swann was the day’s top rookie in 13th position, finishing ahead of Fraser Rogers in 14th and Storm Stacey in 15th. Stacey had his own technical frustrations in FP1 but managed to put in solid mileage later in the afternoon. Davey Todd improved to 16th, while Glenn Irwin completed a marathon number of laps as he adapted to Yamaha machinery. He chose to stay on the same set of tyres throughout the day in order to preserve options for Saturday’s sessions.
The early stages of FP1 had seen Ryde shadow Brookes to grab top spot, while Redding — who concentrated on long runs — was third. Both Stacey and Ray, however, endured frustrating starts. The Bathams squad traced Stacey’s troubles to a suspected gearbox issue that left him with only two exploratory laps. At Raceways, Ray rolled out of pit lane only to come straight back in, prompting an engine change and leaving him without a timed lap in the morning.
There was also a new face on the grid. Joe Talbot, a front-runner in British Supersport, made his BSB debut as stand-in for the injured Lee Jackson at DAO Racing. Talbot ended the day in 21st, using the opportunity to gain valuable track time as he juggles both Supersport and Superbike commitments this weekend.
Elsewhere, Peter Hickman made a welcome return following his TT injury layoff. Back in the saddle for LEW 8TEN Racing, Hickman was classified 25th after losing time to technical issues in FP2, but his presence on track is a boost for fans and the team alike.
All told, Friday at Donington Park belonged to Scott Redding, who reminded the paddock of the class and consistency that carried him to a BSB crown in the past. With Kent, Ryde, and Irwin all showing strong pace, qualifying day promises to deliver another closely fought battle as the season heads into its decisive final phase.
