DONINGTON IS BEST CIRCUIT FOR SUPERBIKES SAYS FOGARTY
Donington Park will mark 20 years of World Superbike
Racing this weekend when the Corona Extra SBK Championship arrives at
the circuit for the European round.
Carl
Fogarty, four-time Superbike World champion, has been around for most
of that time, winning more races and championships than any other rider
in WSBK history.
The Donington Park expert, who says it is by far his
favourite circuit, won his last UK race at Donington Park in 1999
before becoming head of his own WSBK team, Foggy Petronas Racing.
"I love Donington Park," said Foggy, as he is known to his millions of fans.
"It's
by far the best circuit in the country for riding as far as I'm
concerned. It seemed to suit my kind of riding and I had a lot of
success there."
After retiring from the sport eight years ago,
Foggy's famously fierce competitive edge has softened slightly, and the
Donington Park specialist - who even has a corner at the circuit named
in his honour - has spoken about the best way to ride the tricky Craner
Curve complex.
"Some guys find it really hard to go fast at
Donington for a year or two," said the 41-year-old, who won six WSBK
races, scored four pole positions and recorded seven fastest laps at
Donington Park during his career.
"They can't figure it out.
People try too hard. You've just got to let the bike run through the
corners, let the bike do all the work.
"I liked going through
Craner Curves, it's where I made up time. The first part of it is all
on the right side. When you lift the bike up and flick to the left,
some people take their time, but I didn't do that. I kept the throttle
open and went very fast. I usually went on the inside of a few people
through there."
The crowd-favourite was present for the first
WSBK race, which was held at Donington in 1988, competing in a support
category. "I had just recovered from a broken leg," he said. "Somebody
was leading and was brought down on the last lap, if I remember. And I
think the points-scoring system was a bit crazy. I think you got points
only if you finished both races, something like that. It was pretty
obvious WSBK had great potential."
He added: "A world series based on bikes that people ride around the roads every day was always going to be successful."
The
WSBK Championship weekend will run from tomorrow to Sunday, with an
open paddock day today when fans can meet WSBK stars and get a preview
of the event, free of charge.
This is the first time Donington Park has hosted the WSBK series since 2001.
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