Donington springs surprises

With the Donington round of the World Superbikes Championship now complete, the one major surprise of the weekend was the amazing performance of Smrz in race one. The Czech rider took second place on the podium and led for much of the race after a good start from local boy, Leon Haslam. Melandri took race one victory after crusing through the field on a seemingly extremely stable Yamaha R1.

Race two went much more to script with Carlos Checa taking the win and Melandri taking his second podium finish of the weekend. Leon Camier was the top British finisher as he managed a strong showing to finish on the third step of the podium. Fans were again treated to a good start from Leon Haslam, only to see him fade in the closing stages and run off track, eventually taking fourth place after some battling overtaking.

Walker on the grid

This week saw great news for Chris Walker fans as he confirmed that he would again be part of the British Superbike grid. The popular midlander will race a Kawasaki ZX10R for Primo Racing. Though he is unlikely to be competing for race wins, heres hoping the veteran rider can still mix it with the young guns and grab a few good results throughout the 2011 season. Check out this post on the British Superbikes website for more information.

Kiyo to look for fitting tribute

British Superbike rider and title contender, Ryuichi Kiyonari has pledged to dedicate any race victories at the first round of the season at Brands Hatch to victims and those affected by the recent disasters in Japan. The popular Japanese ride, who again rides for HM Plant Honda, will begin his title defence in late April when the 2011 British Superbike season begins.

Donington ready for action

The first Superbikes action of the year for eager British fans is only two weeks away at the recently restored Donington Park in Leicestershire. Donington's recent problems are now a distant memory as they look forward to hosting World Superbike action March 25th -27th followed up by British Superbikes later on in the year.

With so many British riders in this year's World Superbike lineup, what hope a British race winner? Tom Sykes, Jonathan Rea and James Toseland will all be looking to come away with strong points from the European World Superbike round but I'm tipping local pocket rocket, Leon Haslam to use his extensive knowledge of the circuit and end the weekend on the top step of the podium.

Championship predictions

World Superbike Championship

We may only be one race into the 2011 World Superbike Championship but it is already clear that reigning champion Max Biaggi is going to be a difficult man to wrestle the title away from. I'm tipping him for the title even at this early stage because he has proven over many seasons that he can consistently produce podium finishes. 

So what of British hopes in 2011? Expect Tom Sykes to go much better this year with the greatly improved Kawasaki a much better track tool out of the crate. It looks as though Jonathan Rea will be able to mount a serious championship challenge aboard the proven Honda Fireblade whereas strong riders Leon Haslam and James Toseland may need more development work to come from their BMW.

British Superbike Championship

The British Championship has not yet begun but it is clear that the racing this year at the front will likely be as close as ever with Tommy Hill, Michael Laverty, Shane Byrne, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Josh Brookes and former MotoGP rider John Hopkins all in with a realistic chance of claiming the much coveted title. 

Personally I believe it might be Tommy Hill's year. After coming so close last year, he proved he has the strength and consistency to battle at the front but he'll have to deal with tough competition, not least in the form of reigning and three times champion, Kiyonari who will again be riding in familar surroundings for the factory supported HM Plant Honda team.

Paint it black

The Swan Yamaha team joined fellow British Superbike contenders Relentless Suzuki in testing in bikes painted in simple matt black with no sponsorship paintwork. Check out the official British Superbikes page for the latest images.

Hill climbs ahead

It's been a good start to testing for British Superbike rider Tommy Hill as he topped the timesheets in preseason testing at Cartagena.

The popular english rider has made the switch to Swan Yamaha this season following a dramatic end to 2010 when he came so close to winning the championship with Worx Crescent Suzuki before dramatically crashing in the penultimate round, opening the door for Kiyonari to take another BSB crown.

When he's not throwing a 200 bhp superbike around twisting tarmac, Tommy is also a talented graphic design artist. You can visit his website here.