In this day and age, motorbike racing is essentially a Japan-Italy affair. The Italian faction is split between Aprilia (who compete in 250cc and 125cc Grands Prix) and Ducati (MotoGP and Superbikes). There are of course four major Japanese manufacturers and, although you can find Honda and maybe Yamaha in the smaller GP class fields, they effectively concentrate on large capacity racing machinery. In Superbikes the Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki have four-cylinder engines, whereas Ducati have stuck with their tried and tested twin route.

For 2008, Superbike racing rules allow for twin-cylinder engines to be expanded from 1000cc to 1200cc. Four-cylinder engines remain at one litre, just as the equivalency formula kept them down at 750cc until 2002 (in the UK), while twins were at 1000. The 1098R has a capacity advantage which is theoretically balanced out by the performance advantage of the four-cylinder motors.

Following three double-headers, with Shane Byrne setting the pace, the MCRCB decided to make an adjustment to the formula. In Touring Car racing there is success ballast, and that is effectively what was handed to the Ducati runners. Rather than keep the 165kg minimum weight limit across the board, the Dukes were now expected to run at 175kg. This was enforced for qualifying, but a 170kg limit was enforced for the races, to allow sufficient testing time to make the ballasted machines workable. It is thought that Byrne’s machine was already running at 171-172kg.

How did this affect performance? It wasn’t easy to judge in qualifying, as wet weather intervened at that stage. The grid was a bit shuffled as a result, although Byrne was top man once again. His Airwaves team-mate, Leon Camier, was back in eighth, but there was a second front row Ducati - that of NW200 rider Michael Rutter, in third. The 36-year-old is a five-time Superbike winner at Donington, and Byrne has three wins to his name. They were Renegade Ducati team-mates in 2002, and took all four Donington races between them that year.

Honda riders were, as usual, the closest challengers to Ducati. Thruxton and Brands winner Cal Crutchlow got his HM Plant bike onto row one in fourth, with team-mate Leon Haslam seventh. Haslam had won both Donington races in 2007. But leading the way for Honda, on a non-factory bike, was 27-year-old James Ellison. The Hydrex Bike Animal team rider would line up second, which was his best BSB qualifying performance to date.

Twice a Supersport winner at Donington, Michael Laverty was fifth and the leading Suzuki rider, for the Relentless by TAS team. In front of Haslam and Camier, sixth went to Hawk Kawasaki rider Scott Smart. This was his best qualification since the first race of 2005, and of course came on the circuit where wet conditions had helped him to a race win in 2006. Gary Mason had been fourth in the same race, and now he was in P9 for his BSB return, leading the privateers with his Quay Garage Honda.

Karl Harris was back in action with the Yamaha, having missed Brands after a bruising Oulton. He was tenth, from Billy McConnell (MSS Kawasaki), Chris Burns (privateer MV Agusta for the STP team), Tom Sykes (with work to do on the Rizla Suzuki), Stuart Easton (MSS), Tom Grant (SMT Honda) and Dean Ellison (Co-ordit Yamaha).

Conditions were dull for the first race, but more importantly it was pretty windy. Byrne led away, but was passed at the Old Hairpin right-hander by James Ellison. The right-hander at McLeans saw Crutchlow take third from Rutter and, before both of these moves, Harris overtook Sykes for fifth in the downhill Craner Curves. Easton would soon pass Sykes as well and, at the left-right Fogarty Esses, fourth was taken from Rutter by Harris.

In an action-packed first lap, leader Ellison had a big rear wheel slide at the right-handed Melbourne Hairpin, followed through by Byrne, Crutchlow and Harris. Easton tried a pass on Rutter at that corner, but he left himself open to a move from Sykes, who went past going up to Goddards for the final left-hander. Into lap two, Sykes then overtook Rutter at the first right-hander, Redgate.

Ellison led Byrne, Crutchlow, Harris, Sykes, Rutter, Easton, Haslam, Smart, McConnell, Camier, Tristan Palmer (TENA for Men Honda), Burns, John Laverty (Buildbase NW200 Ducati) and Simon Andrews (Jentin Racing/Lloyds British Yamaha). And before long the first five were moving clear of the rest. Haslam progressed past Easton and Rutter to chase after the leaders, and meanwhile Ellison started to go the other way. Byrne overtook him at the Esses, with a waved apology, and Crutchlow was able to follow him past at Melbourne.

The race unfolded with Byrne, Crutchlow and Harris soon just a touch clear of Ellison, Sykes and Haslam. Rutter and Camier made up a Ducati duo leading the pursuit, with Leon having made up three places after a disappointing start. At one point, the difficult wind conditions were made evident when a stray umbrella blew across the Redgate corner from the infield. Luckily, it chose the gap between Haslam and Rutter and was only of momentary concern.

Perhaps the added ballast had helped, as this race was competitive and the lead group had Ducati, Yamaha and Suzuki machinery, plus three Hondas. Crutchlow passed Byrne with an inside move at McLeans, and they switched back a few corners later with a pass at Melbourne. In between, Haslam had braked on the inside of Sykes to go into fifth at the Esses. But by half-distance, Byrne was starting to stretch out a lead - at which point they all had to slow for the safety car.

Privateer racer Luke Quigley, with the PDM Suzuki, had crashed out and his bike was on fire. The field closed up, with Byrne leading Crutchlow, Harris, Ellison, Sykes, Haslam, Camier, Rutter, Easton and Smart. McConnell had earlier been eleventh, before finding himself crossing the grass and continuing for the loss of some places.

The restart went well for Byrne, but second man Crutchlow lost second to Harris at Redgate. The lap also saw Sykes challenge Ellison for fourth, with the Suzuki rider getting on the inside for Melbourne and completing the pass on the way out of the hairpin. James would soon lose out to Haslam at Redgate, and behind the first six came Camier, Rutter, Easton, Smart, Michael Laverty, Andrews, Burns, Palmer and John Laverty.

Positions resolved themselves with Byrne getting away up front, a group of three racing for second, and another group of three for fifth. Haslam had passed Crutchlow into the Esses, and Cal had then fallen back to head the second trio. Haslam passed Sykes through the fast sweeping left at Starkey’s Bridge, and these two were on the tail of Harris in P2. Leon went for it at Melbourne, but he ran wide and let Karl past again; but he made it through at Goddards.

Haslam had come through from eighth to second, but by now Byrne was far enough out of reach to take the race. Leon got away from the next pair, with Sykes getting third from Harris on the inside into Goddards. The next trio had been Crutchlow, Camier and Ellison. James found some momentum to halt his backward slide, and got back past Leon. Cal then lost out to both of them, and Ellison led all of them onto the tail of Harris.

The first three places were decided, but the last lap saw a lot of action for the next few places. Ellison passed Harris into the Esses, and this helped Camier, who came out of the right-hander better and also went by the Yamaha, on Karl’s left. The line he was on meant the 28-year-old was wide at Melbourne, so that Crutchlow also overtook. Harris went from fourth to seventh in three corners, but he at least completed the full race distance. Rutter took a solitary eighth, Michael Laverty a solitary ninth, then Andrews, Easton, Palmer, Grant, Dean Ellison, Smart and John Laverty - he won the Cup race, with rival Burns not finishing.

Brighter conditions awaited the riders for race two, and this time Byrne found himself only sixth as the field jostled for position through the first few corners. Ellison made another good start to lead, and Haslam got it right this time and was able to push his Honda rival back one at McLeans. Rutter, Crutchlow and Michael Laverty led Byrne, who had his team-mate Camier with him.

Crutchlow wanted to make amends for his earlier result, and uphill into the double apex Coppice right-hander he got inside both Rutter and then Ellison to take second. James was pushed wide by this and Michael also overtook him, then the ‘veteran’ recovered his place from Cal into the Esses. Laverty was on the move and advanced to third, from Crutchlow, Ellison, Byrne, Camier and Harris.

Second in the points, and having beaten Byrne only twice, Crutchlow was in the thick of it here. He took third from Laverty at the Old Hairpin, and was racing Rutter at Coppice. The Honda man went past on the inside at the first apex, but was wide at the second so that the Ducati went back through. A slide at Melbourne for Cal let Laverty through on the inside, and then both, plus Ellison, passed Rutter in quick succession. However, the two Michaels would soon drop back.

Haslam had put a bit of a margin between himself and the rest, but now second man Crutchlow moved in on his team-mate, with Ellison, Camier and Byrne in tow. It had become a five man train, with Sykes now in a clear sixth and Harris seventh. Byrne moved up one slot at Melbourne, and was third when Ellison turned late and gave him room out of the Esses. Camier then got James into the braking zone at Melbourne. Laverty had dropped to ninth and very soon would have to pull out altogether.

HM Plant Honda led, with Haslam and Crutchlow, then came Airwaves Ducati, with Byrne and Camier. Ellison gradually began to lose touch, but the action continued in front of him. Camier overtook Byrne on his inside through Old Hairpin, but again it was one of those where the extra braking effort took him wide and he gave up the place again. Byrne wasn’t satisfied with third, and Crutchlow lost his position when the points leader squeezed inside into the apex at Melbourne.

Now only Haslam headed Byrne, and the Ducati team leader was using a harder compound Pirelli rear tyre, which would hold up longer. Shane set fastest lap in chasing Leon, and he was able to repeat his previous pass to get the lead at Melbourne with just two laps remaining. From there he had just enough edge to keep clear of any pass from the Honda man, taking the double win. Crutchlow and Camier were together to the finish and in that order.

© Raceline Photography

Ellison was fifth, and then there was a big gap back to Sykes, who led Harris and Rutter. Coming from P13, his start in race one had allowed Sykes to make the podium, but this time he’d had rather more to do. The same was true of Andrews, who’d been outside the points at the beginning of this race, but his progress brought him through for ninth, overtaking Cup leader Mason on the last lap. Easton took 11th, and Smart had dropped from ninth to 12th, from Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki), Palmer, Dean Ellison and John Laverty.

Despite the extra weight for the big Ducatis, Shane Byrne was the double winner at Donington, and he took his points advantage up to 68. He took his BSB podium tally to fifty on the day, second only to Michael Rutter among current series riders. Leon Haslam finally had a good 2008 meeting, and his pair of seconds meant he went from sixth in the championship to third, just ahead of the consistent Leon Camier. Cal Crutchlow had a disappointing time, but of course is still plagued by his injured right ankle and he managed well enough with this in mind.

James Ellison and Tom Sykes both had positives from Donington, but there was probably relief for Karl Harris. Riding as the sole man in Rob McElnea’s Yamaha team, Karl had been out of luck at Thruxton, with bike failure in race one. He was hurt in someone else’s accident second time out, making it difficult at Oulton where he crashed both times. Having missed Brands, a pair of sevenths here gave him his first points of the season. If he can sustain his race pace better next time he should be nearer the front - where we might just expect to see a Ducati.

Standings after eight races: Byrne 190; Crutchlow 122; Haslam 96; Camier 94; J Ellison 89; Rutter 82; Sykes 76; Easton 63; M Laverty 61; Andrews 37; Palmer 36; Smart 34.

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