On Friday, Jonas Folger suffered an unintentionally subdued start to the WorldSBK round in the Midlands of England.
After an interesting test at the Spanish circuit of Navarra last week, Jonas Fogler and his team Bonovo Action / MGM Racing Performance headed by principal Jürgen Röder travelled to England, where this weekend the Superbike World Championship is on the road for the fourth stop of the 2021 season at the traditional steeped Donington Park Circuit.
Folger, who raced only one time at the English circuit 12 years ago, used Friday’s first free practice sessions to get himself and his BMW M 1000 RR used to the four kilometres long and varied layout. During FP1 he managed a personal best effort of the day in 130.077, which allowed the fast Bavarian rider to finish the session in the top 15. In slightly warmer conditions this afternoon, the 27-year-old rider struggled to improve on his time from this morning.
Before the lights will go out for the first race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon at 15:00 CET, the best grid positions will be fought out in Superpole at 12:10 CET.
#94 Jonas FOLGER (Bonovo Action / MGM Racing Performance, BMW M 1000 RR), FP1: P15 - 1´30.077 / FP2: P19 - 1´30.218:
“Our first day in Donington was a bit more complicated than we had hoped. We have a new frame, which we already tested in Navarra. At the moment, though, I cannot really say whether it feels better or worse. During the test, however, the feeling was definitely better, but now we are struggling with similar difficulties as previously. For example, we are suffering in turning, as well as to get more rear grip. I think it will be a longer meeting when we sit down now and analyse everything so that we can improve tomorrow.”
#GBRWorldSBK - Combined Free Practice Times (FP1/FP2):
1 Garrett GERLOFF / USA / GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1 / 1´27.524 (FP2)
2 Jonathan REA / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10R / 1´27.841 +0.317 (FP1)
3 Toprak RAZGATLIOGLU / TUR / Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1 / 1´28.048 +0.524 (FP2)
18 #94 Jonas FOLGER / GER / Bonovo Action MGM Racing Performance / BMW M 1000 RR / 1´30.077 +2.553 (FP1)
#GBRWorldSBK - Time Schedule for Saturday July 3rd (CET):
10:00 - 10:30 FP3
12:10 - 12:25 Superpole
15:00 Race 1 (23 Laps - 92.529 km)
