Alstare hope history will repeat at Donington.
The last time the Superbike World Championship was at Donington Park it was a tremendous occasion for Team Alstare Suzuki. That was back in 2001, when Italian Pierfrancesco Chili took runner-up spot in the first race and then followed it up with a sensational win in the second.
Since then the midlands circuit has been off the calendar, but it is back this year to celebrate the twentieth year of the World Championship, and is especially important as the first ever WSBK race took place at Donington.
The last time the Superbike World Championship was at Donington Park it was a tremendous occasion for Team Alstare Suzuki. That was back in 2001, when Italian Pierfrancesco Chili took runner-up spot in the first race and then followed it up with a sensational win in the second.
Since then the midlands circuit has been off the calendar, but it is back this year to celebrate the twentieth year of the World Championship, and is especially important as the first ever WSBK race took place at Donington.
Both of Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider's Max Biaggi and Yukio Kagayama are no strangers to Donington, neither of them have ridden there in a World SBK race.
Biaggi last raced at Donington in MotoGP in 2005, and Kagayama last raced there in the 2004 British Superbike Championship.
"I like Donington because it is quite a fast track, but now that I am on Superbike I will have to learn it all over again," said the former GP ace.
The team's test work at Valencia should pay off and Biaggi is hoping to get back onto the podium, "It's going to feel very different on my Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 compared to the last bike I rode there, so we will have to start the first practice trying to find a good set-up for the bike. We did a lot of work at the recent Valencia tests and accumulated a lot of information. Hopefully, we can put it all too good use at Donington and take some podiums."
Kagayama, who has a huge British fan base, is looking forward to getting on track in the UK, "For me, the last time I raced at Donington seems a long time ago. That was in BSB, but this time it is the World Championship and it will be much harder for sure," he said.
He has recovered well from the nasty crash he suffered at Phillip Island where he sustained lung damage and injured his shoulder. "At our recent test, my shoulder was still very sore, but now that I have had some time to rest it, I think it will be in much better condition for the race. I will not know how strong it is until first practice, but I am hoping that it will be OK and not give me too much trouble. I have many fans in England, so I want to push hard and get a couple of podiums," he finished.
