After qualifying fourth on Saturday Kenan understood very well that he could possibly win the Donington race but on the day the front running force of British rider Sam Lowes took the prize. Sofuoglu was pushing him hard in the latter stages, but realising he risked a crash if he pushed any more he finally accepted second place, keeping his championship lead.

Having now scored four podiums in five races, including a win in Australia, Sofuoglu is five points ahead of Lowes, and 17 points up on Donington third place rider, Jules Cluzel.

Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) found that the severe beating he took in a Monza crash last weekend had a real effect on him through the practice sessions at Donington. He still rode with good pace on raceday, posting seventh place after being hampered by other riders in the early laps.

Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step Racing) suffered a head knock in practice but pluckily rode on to finish tenth and score points enough to only drop him one championship position, to fourth overall. He is now 26 points off the lead – just over one race win’s worth of points.

Kenan Sofuoglu: “In the beginning of the weekend I was finding it a little difficult but all weekend we have worked well to find a good set-up and we did not so bad for the race. In the early part I really tried to follow Sam and Jules. Near the end I tried to attack Sam again but I saw he was too fast and maybe I would crash if I tried any more. I thought then that maybe I just had to take a second position and finish the race. To win world championships you have to get on the podium every time and make every race very strong. I am quite happy to be leading the championship still.”

Sheridan Morais:“I had a big crash at Monza and that affected me quite a lot. I have been to the Clinica Mobile and they have been sorting me out, and that has helped a lot. I just get really tired. It did not get as bad as thought I might in the race so I was happy with that. Sixth is not where I wanted to be but I am happy with a nice solid result. I have had so much bad luck this was a nice one. I came from quite far back because I got boxed in at the start but I managed to pass some guys and pull out a gap to the riders behind. It is nice to have this solid base now, so for the next ones I can start fighting a bit again.”

Fabien Foret: “I feel a little bit tired because I hit my head pretty hard when I fell in practice. Since then I lost a bit of confidence in a track that has always been a bit like that. I will be happy to go home after three hard rounds and move on again at Misano. After round two and leading by 20 points I leave round five in fourth place, so it has been a bit tough recently. But I am also tough so I will come back.”

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