action now , albeit with no WorldSSP or WorldSSP300 classes to watch this year . That is actually a reflection of that first weekend in 1989 when the brand new WorldSBK posse was part of an overall one-off race meeting , dividing track time with the ‘ Eurolantic ’ Challenge international match races . Important one-off ‘ Internationals ’ were all the rage at one time but as National series and especially WorldSBK and MotoGP™ racing took off and expanded over the years they gradually slid away . WorldSBK kept coming back to Donington , with some genuinely important historical events and turning points all through its formative years and beyond . The track back in 1988 was not quite as it is now . The Melbourne loop we have been hearing so much about was not in use in that first weekend , so the run along the back straight , past the famous Donington Museum , was linked to the start / finish straight by a right , left chicane , a double flick that was also a classic passing opportunity . The Melbourne loop , the scene of many exciting passes and simple mistakes that have determined race wins and even championship outcomes . Britain may not be quite as much of a ‘ Superbike Island ’ as it once was but from true bikers everywhere there will be a lot of attention on a series with so many top WorldSBK riders coming from almost every part of the UK .
Britain , being a Union of countries under one flag , has its home round in the English Midlands but there is actually one rider above all who is very much a local lad and that is Leon Haslam . Even if he was born in London . He ’ s as local as they come , as was his father Ron before him . But , Donington is still the local track for Northern Ireland ’ s Jonathan Rea and Wales ’ Chaz Davies . This is their home round too and ‘ God Save The Queen ’ plays if they win , even if such are the quirks of British life that they are technically not even racing in their home nations . There are other Englishmen in WorldSBK 2021 besides Haslam . Yorkshireman Tom Sykes has been the winning machine at Donington in many recent seasons and Alex Lowes , originally from Lincolnshire , does not have too far a drive to get home to see the hometown folks on a Sunday night either . If Covid rules allow , of course … The classic Donington Park experience , with is compact paddock and busy areas , its short straights and epic long corners , is a schizophrenic mix of big flowing curves and hard braking / accelerating areas . It is a wonderful and entirely British venue just made for bike racing . And if you get a flight to the local airport , you can even walk to the circuit … All tracks are unique but as the only British round scheduled on the calendar in 2021 - having missed out entirely for Pandemic reasons in 2020 - Donington is a precious venue for WorldSBK this season . Welcome and welcome home , in a way , as WorldSBK once again feels the warmth of its Middle Earth Mother ’ s embrace
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