Rider Race Report – Donington Park
Round 8
10 September 2025
As a team, the PistonClick photographers enjoy following a few motorcycle racers throughout the season. In this BSB Donington Rider Race Report, we’ll focus on #23 Luke Hedger, #79 Harley McCabe and #36 Kenneth Macleod. Let’s start with Luke Hedger, who is racing in the British Superbikes.
#23 Luke Hedger – Rider Race Report – Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
Donington was a tough one from start to finish, but there were still some important positives to take away. With four sprint races on the schedule, I arrived motivated and ready to fight for some strong results, but for one reason or another I just couldn’t settle on the bike. A few issues across the weekend made things even more challenging, but as a team we never stopped working and pushing forward.
Free Practice and Qualifying – Bennetts British Superbikes..
The opening sessions gave a good indication of the challenges ahead. FP1 went fairly solid with P17, but in FP2 and FP3 I slipped back to P20 and P22 as we tried to find the right balance with the bike. Qualifying was another tough one, leaving me 22nd on the grid and with plenty of work to do in the races to follow.
Races 1 – 4 Bennetts British Superbikes.
Race 1 was all about keeping my head down and staying consistent, and I managed to bring it home in P17. In Race 2, I struggled again but still fought hard to finish P20. The highlight of the weekend came in Race 3, where I got stuck into some proper battles and crossed the line in P14, which means more points on the board. Unfortunately, Race 4 ended early with a clutch issue after just four laps, which was a real shame given we were finally starting to make progress.
Overall, the results don’t tell the full story. Scoring points in this class is no small achievement, and the fact that we can do it even on a difficult weekend proves how much progress we’ve made together as a team.
Now my focus shifts to Assen and the final three rounds of the season. I’ll be giving 110% to keep building, fight for more points, and finish the year on a high. As always, a massive thank you to my team for their hard work and commitment, and to my sponsors and supporters for standing by me.
#79 Harley Mcabe – Rider Race Report – Pirelli National Sportbike Championship.
This weekend marked a really encouraging step forward in my season and gave me plenty of positives to build on. I didn’t take part in the season’s earlier round at Donington, so Friday’s FP1 and FP2 sessions were all about learning the track on the Aprilia and finding a rhythm. I focused on taking small steps each session, gradually improving my speed and confidence. By the end of practice, I felt a lot more comfortable with the bike and the circuit, which set us up well for qualifying.
Qualifying – Pirelli National Sportbike Championship.
Qualifying itself was a bit of a challenge. With so many bikes out on track, I found it tough to put a clean lap together. Even so, I managed to keep improving my lap times throughout the session. And the hard work paid off—I came away with my best qualifying performance to date in P19. It might not sound a big deal, but for the team and I it was a clear sign of progress.
Race – Pirelli National Sportbike Championship.
The race brought its own drama. Just as we set off, the rain started to fall, and after a brief-but-chaotic period in the pits, the race was postponed until the end of the day. When we finally got underway, I made a strong start and immediately gained positions, moving up to P12. From there, I put my head down and concentrated on my lines, getting stuck into some really close battles with a solid group of riders. It was a proper scrap all the way to the end, and I eventually brought it home in P14 and in the points! This is the first weekend where I really felt like I was in the race and competing with the main pack, which is a big step for me.
Overall, I come away from the weekend feeling really positive. We’re heading in the right direction, and each time out I’m learning more and making improvements. The target now is to keep this momentum going into Oulton Park, keep building confidence, and fight for even more points.
A massive thank you goes to Rob and Paul for all their hard work on the bike—their support makes all the difference.
Kenneth Macleod KM36 Racing – Rider Race Report.
Macleod competes in the ROKiT OFF BMW F900R Cup. A support race series run at the British Superbike meetings. Macleod is riding for the True Heroes Racing team. This is the UK’s first and only motorcycle race team formed around wounded, injured, and sick UK Service personnel & Veterans. This is Donington Park race report.
Strap yourselves in folks as this one really is a good un…
Keeping the momentum from Cadwell a fortnight ago, I went out and was straight on the pace in FP and Qualifying where I ended the sessions 11th and 12th respectively.
Heat Race – ROKiT OFF BMW F900R Cup.
Starting from 6th on the grid I got a good launch and into a 3 way battle for 4th with Andrew Williams and James Bull. It was a mega full 8 lap scrap with plenty of great overtakes being made. Unfortunately I got on the power a bit too keenly coming out of the last corner on the last lap and crashed out of 4th place! Absolutely gutted after what was my best race onboard the BMW so far.
LCQ Race – ROKiT OFF BMW F900R Cup.
Due to my DNF in the heat race I lined up on the grid in 18th. A mega first lap put me up 11 places by the end of lap one before making my way to 3rd a couple of laps later. I then closed the gap to the two in front and sat behind them for a couple of laps while they battled away with each other. With 2 laps to go I made my move to the front and got my head down setting consecutive fastest laps of the race and taking home 1st place!
Main Race – ROKiT OFF BMW F900R Cup.
Starting 27th for this one I knew I had a lot of work to do. I had a great start and instantly started to work my way through the pack. I managed to make my way into 11th place by lap 7 when unfortunately the red flag (rider ok) came out due to excessive gravel on the track. Sadly the results went back a lap so dropped me to 12th but all things considered still absolutely chuffed to have made up 15 places in such a short number of laps!
To top it off I was then rolled into parc ferme and given ‘Rider of the Day’ Award by Steve Platter.
As always a massive thank you to the True Heroes Racing team for all their hard work and support! Despite the disappointment of crashing from 4th this was definitely my best BSB weekend so far. Now to try and keep this form up as we head into the final round of both the No Limits Racing and Bennetts British Superbike Championship championships.
#19 Joe Talbot Bennetts BSB and Supersport.
We will finish with Joe Talbots epic weekend performance. BSB Donington Park Round 8 saw 21-year-old Joe Talbot combine his Bennetts BSB debut with his regular Quattro Group British Supersport commitments. As a consequence of riding in the four Superbike and two Supersport races he lapped the Leicestershire circuit 161 times when you include Free Practice and Qualification!
Deputising for Lee Jackson who continues his recovery from injury Talbot recorded his first BSB Championship points on his debut riding the DAO Racing Honda. Finishing 15th in Race 1, and followed that up with 3 further points when finishing 13th in Race 3.
In the Supersport class, riding his Binch Pro Ducati, he maintained his challenge for the championship by finishing 4th and 7th in the weekends two races, and as a result retained fifth place in the title race, 63 points behind championship leader Rhys Irwin.
All this, despite the disappointment of missing out on an official Yamaha BSB ride for 2025 when OMG Racing pulled out just before the start of the season.
Thanks to Mic Pringle, Camipix and :DEEGEE: Motorsport Photography for the images used in this report.
You can contact and see more of :DEEGEE: Motorsport Photography here.
You can find all of our other British Superbike reports here.
