Round 6 of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is fast approaching and Donington Park marks the halfway point of the season. The Donington Park circuit is steeped in history and often produces incredible classic races. While this year’s Prosecco DOC UK Round is still just over a week away, why not warm up for Donington with some classic races? After looking back at some wildcard wins already, this time it’s a visit to 2007 and Race 2 for a last corner showdown.

In 2007, there was much hype coming into the Donington Park round as Britain’s James Toseland led the Championship standings aboard his Ten Kate Racing Honda. The British rider had never done the double but after winning Race 1, he was right in contention to send a packed Donington Park absolutely crazy. However, it wasn’t to be as a rare mechanical problem took the British rider out on the exit of Turn 1 on Lap 4, with Yamaha riders Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser narrowly avoiding him.

This left a huge land of opportunity for the chasing pack as Toseland’s 25-point lead in the Championship could be completely wiped out if Max Biaggi on the Alstare Suzuki won, whilst Haga was 52 points back, meaning a win for him would put him back into contention. With Haga taking over the lead and teammate Corser in second, it was Biaggi who was closing in and on Lap 10, went through on Corser for second place at the Melbourne hairpin before setting off on closing down the 1.4s gap that Haga had pulled out. On Lap 14, Biaggi was right there and made his move on Haga at the Foggy Esses but then went wide at Melbourne, allowing Haga back through as Corser now made it a three-way fight.

Biaggi finally got through at the Foggy Esses the following lap and despite continuously running deep at the Melbourne hairpin, looked like he had it covered. Onto the last lap, Haga was right there and at the final corner, Biaggi went wide, throwing away the victory as Haga sliced under him and out-dragged the rookie to the line. It was a first win of the year for Haga and his last win in the UK, where he was a popular figure. Biaggi was now five points adrift in the title race, as although he lost the win, he made up big ground on Toseland.

Watch more classic races in style and watch this season’s classics LIVE in 2023 with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com