The WorldSBK field faced low temperatures and cloudy skies but a dry track as the action making up round five got underway at the Donington Park circuit today.
Kawasaki Puccetti Racing and rider Tito Rabat worked tirelessly to adapt their Ninja ZX-10RR KRT Factory Replica to the British track, one that is both technical and undulating.
In the first free practice, the Spaniard set a time of 1’28”114 to place seventeenth. In the afternoon’s FP2, Tito improved by eight tenths (1’27”317) to round out the day in eighteenth position but lying just 1.3 seconds from provisional pole position.
Rabat will be back out tomorrow for Superpole and Race 1
Donington Park – Castle Donington – UK
Superbike World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 2) Petrucci (Ducati) – 3) Bulega (Ducati) – 4) Lowes (Kawasaki) ……. 18) Rabat (Kawasaki)
Tito Rabat
“Beyond our actual position in the standings, today’s been very positive. We immediately found a good setup for our Ninja and I was able to make continuous improvement throughout the day. The level in Superbike is really high, which means that although I’m only just over a second from the front, I find myself lying nineteenth. The important thing though is that our bike is working well. If we continue like this, we can run two good races. Thanks to the team for all their hard work today.”
