The 1988 Donington Superbike World Championship round was the opening round of the 1988 Superbike World Championship season and the first ever in the series. It took place on 3 April 1988 at the Donington circuit in Great Britain.
Report The first grand prix in the history of the Superbike World Championship took place on April 3, 1988, on the 3.149 km National Circuit layout of Donington Park. 45 riders participated in qualifying, with pole position initially going to Doug Polen of the Yoshimura Suzuki team, but he, along with teammate Scott Gray, were disqualified (and deprived of the opportunity to participate in either race) because their bikes were found to have a cubic volume of 765 cm3, against the imposed limit of 750 cm3. This arose from the fact that the AMA Superbike regulations (the championship in which Polen and Gray raced) allowed this through "overboring" of the Suzuki's cylinders, while the World Superbike regulations were more rigid. With the exclusion of Polen from the starting grid, pole was inherited by Roger Burnett, who became the first rider to take pole position in a World Superbike race.
In the first race, 40 riders (the maximum allowed) lined up, but only 39 left the grid; rider Peter Häfner unable to take the start. The first race was won by Davide Tardozzi on a Bimota, despite having to manually restart the electronic injection system a few laps from the finish. The 1981 FIM 500cc World Champion Marco Lucchinelli finished second on the lone Ducati in the field, while Joey Dunlop finished third.
Only riders who made it to at least half distance in the first race were allowed to compete in the second, therefore only 31 riders were allowed to take the start, however only 30 did so. In the second race, Tardozzi and Lucchinelli once again fought for the top two positions, with the battle only being decided when Tardozzi crashed just after Starkey's Bridge on the final lap. Three-time AMA Superbike champion Fred Merkel would take second, and Burnett third.AMA Superbike Champions
Due to the points system being based on the combined results of the two races, Tardozzi's final lap crash would prevent him from scoring any points, despite his win in the first race. From the next round at Hungary onwards, half points would be awarded, but now for each race.
Classification
Race 1 Pos No. Rider Bike Laps Time/Retired Grid12 Davide Tardozzi Bimota 30 37:50.7202239 Marco Lucchinelli Ducati 30 +1.090333 Joey Dunlop Honda 30 +30.0505417 Fred Merkel Honda 30 +31.87011511 Roger Marshall Suzuki 30 +35.830668 Kenny Irons Honda 30 +36.0909715 Jari Suhonen Yamaha 30 +42.67027810 Fabrizio Pirovano Yamaha 30 +51.67013918 Andy McGladdery Suzuki 30 +1:00.940181036 Michel Mercier Suzuki 30 +1:01.790151124 Steve Williams Bimota 30 +1:10.160201257 José Maria Pardo Yamaha 30 +1:11.360241335 Rueben McMurter Yamaha 30 +1:17.430191441 Mark Farmer Suzuki 29 +1 lap211563 Dave Leach Yamaha 29 +1 lap251637 Tom Douglas Yamaha 29 +1 lap301765 John Lofthouse Suzuki 29 +1 lap311860 Kimmo Kopra Yamaha 29 +1 lap281956 Asa Moyce Kawasaki 29 +1 lap342022 Esko Kuparinen Kawasaki 29 +1 lap362161 Steve Veasey Kawasaki29 +1 lap352264 Steve Mason Suzuki28 +2 laps402362 Dave Hill Suzuki27 +3 laps372419 Graeme McGregor Honda25 +5 laps32257 Anders Andersson Suzuki24 +6 laps17Ret6 Stéphane Mertens Bimota28Retirement4Ret34 Gary Goodfellow Suzuki24Accident7Ret16 Keith Huewen Bimota24Retirement22Ret31 Bubba Shobert Honda20Retirement10Ret14 Peter Rubatto Bimota17Retirement16Ret9 Roger Burnett Honda15Accident1Ret4 Mark Phillips Bimota14Retirement12Ret43 Michael Williams Honda13Accident39Ret42 Hans Lindner Honda9Retirement14Ret30 Des Barry Yamaha9Retirement29Ret20 Robert Dunlop Honda9Retirement26Ret49 Antonio García Moreno Bimota8Retirement33Ret23 Michael Galinski Bimota4Retirement23Ret21 Paul Iddon Bimota2Retirement8DNS47 Peter Häfner Bimota0Did not start38DSQ32 Doug Polen SuzukiDisqualifiedDSQ66 Scott Gray SuzukiDisqualifiedDNQ54 Claudio Biesele BimotaDNQ52 Darren Dixon SuzukiDNQ1 Virginio Ferrari Honda
Race 2 Pos No. Rider Bike Laps Time/Retired Grid139 Marco LucchinelliDucati3038:15.9103217 Fred MerkelHonda30 +9.3501039 Roger BurnettHonda30 +15.5001410 Fabrizio Pirovano Yamaha30 +20.9301153 Joey Dunlop Honda30 +21.5805611 Roger Marshall Suzuki30 +23.8906718 Andy McGladdery Suzuki30 +46.6101588 Kenny Irons Honda30 +50.3708924 Steve Williams Bimota30 +53.780171015 Jari Suhonen Yamaha30 +53.820221141 Mark Farmer Suzuki30 +1:16.27018127 Anders Andersson Suzuki30 +1:25.010141363 Dave Leach Yamaha29 +1 lap211465 John Lofthouse Suzuki29 +1 lap251537 Tom Douglas Yamaha29 +1 lap241656 Asa Moyce Kawasaki29 +1 lap271722 Esko Kuparinen Kawasaki29 +1 lap291861 Steve Veasey Kawasaki29 +1 lap281919 Graeme McGregor Honda28 +2 laps262062 Dave Hill Suzuki27 +3 laps30Ret2 Davide Tardozzi Bimota29Accident2Ret35 Rueben McMurter Yamaha29Retirement16Ret14 Peter Rubatto Bimota21Retirement13Ret31 Bubba Shobert Honda19Retirement9Ret57 José Maria Pardo Yamaha19Accident20Ret36 Michel Mercier Suzuki11Accident12Ret16 Keith Huewen Bimota10Retirement19Ret6 Stéphane Mertens Bimota0Accident4Ret60 Kimmo Kopra Yamaha0Accident23Ret64 Steve Mason Suzuki0Accident31DNS34 Gary Goodfellow SuzukiInjured7
Combined results Only riders that finished both races were included. Pos No. Rider Bike Laps Time/Retired Pts139 Marco LucchinelliDucati601:16:07.72020217 Fred MerkelHonda60 +40.1301733 Joey DunlopHonda60 +50.54015411 Roger MarshallSuzuki60 +58.63013510 Fabrizio PirovanoYamaha60 +1:11.5101168 Kenny IronsHonda60 +1:25.37010715 Jari SuhonenYamaha60 +1:35.4009818 Andy McGladderySuzuki60 +1:46.4608924 Steve WilliamsBimota60 +2:02.85071041 Mark FarmerSuzuki59 +1 lap61163 Dave LeachYamaha58 +2 laps51237 Tom DouglasYamaha58 +2 laps41365 John LofthouseSuzuki58 +2 laps31456 Asa MoyceKawasaki58 +2 laps21522 Esko KuparinenKawasaki58 +2 laps11661 Steve VeaseyKawasaki58 +2 laps1762 Dave HillSuzuki54 +6 laps187 Anders AnderssonSuzuki54 +6 laps1919 Graeme McGregorHonda53 +7 laps
References