Debut delight for Egan at Donington Park

Race day at Donington Park for the opening round of the 2015 British Superbike Championship got off to a fantastic start for Ducati, as MWR Motorsports Ducati rider James Egan put in a sensational performance on debut.

Having had no meaningful running prior to the race meeting, the young South African was looking to treat this first event as something of a public test. Securing 30^th on the highly competitive Superstock grid, the #81 bike immediately started making progress through the field as the lights went out. Finding himself knocking on the door of the top twenty after just a couple of laps, the potential of this rider/bike combination was plain to see.

As the race progressed Egan’s pace got better and better, moving steadily up the order in the middle part of the race to secure a points-scoring place at mid-distance. With just a few laps to go the Panigale R was knocking on the door of the top ten, and the 24-year-old made a strong pass by the Kawasaki of East late on to secure eleventh place to the delight of the MWR squad.

Eagan said: “The bike is just something else – I immediately felt comfortable on it, but the really exciting thing is that there’s so much more to come. Last year in this championship I was just about knocking on the door of the top group by the end of the season, but we’re already at that level after just a couple of sessions on the Ducati – it’s by far the best bike I’ve ridden! We were making big steps forward all weekend, and it’s just a shame we don’t get more track time – if I’d started that race 11^th instead of 30^th, who knows what might have happened!”