Weather wreaks havoc at Donington Park
Changeable weather once again reared its ugly head during the penultimate round of the British Superbike series as the region's top riders were hit by crashes.
The Black Country-based Bathams Racing pairing of Michael Rutter and Taylor Mackenzie both succumbed to the damp track, as did Hednesford's Kurt Wigley, who was left with a broken collarbone, while Heath Hayes' teenager Josh Hiatt was also taken out in his second race.
Only Eccelshall's Storm Stacey and Stourbridge sidecar racer Martin Kirk came away from Donington Park with decent results.
Brierley Hill-born Rutter turned his first laps on board the new BMW S1000RR in the National Superstock 1000 class following a successful debut on the bike by team-mate Mackenzie at Oulton Park.
In mixed, drying conditions, he finished both free practice sessions comfortably in the top 10.
Mackenzie then claimed his third pole of the year during qualifying while Rutter struggled to find a rhythm, meaning he would start Sunday's race in 20th position.
Rutter had climbed into the top 10 after one lap and was making strong progress towards the leaders before making a small mistake.
He hit a damp patch while overtaking another competitor and briefly lost control of his BMW. Unable to recover the resulting slide from the rear, he crashed out of the race.
Mackenzie had made a perfect start and led the rest of the field before the safety car was deployed.
Soon after the restart, he suffered a large highside at Coppice corner and had to retire from the race after five of the 15 laps but thankfully both riders avoided any injuries.
Rutter said: “Nothing to say really, other that the crash was 100 per cent my fault and that I'm physically okay.
"Obviously I was in a bit of hurry to get up to the leaders, which was always going to mean taking a few risks after qualifying so low on the grid. That's racing. The highs are really high, and the lows are really low."
Wigley was also left wondering might have been after his speed had placed him as high as third during the opening practice sessions in the Brtitish Supersport class.
After battling for a front row spot in qualifying, towards the closing stages of the final qualifying session, he was knocked down to sixth before retaliating with an awesome final lap more than half a second faster, which would have left him somewhere around fourth on the grid.
However, as he pushed his brake marker back entering the Melbourne Loop with the back wheel off the ground, the landing unsettled the bike and prevented him from stopping.
After hitting the ground hard, just two corners short for the finish line, he was making a trip to the hospital where it was revealed he had broken his collarbone.
"Gutted is an understatement," he said. "Big apologies to the team, sponsors and followers for this costly mistake when the weekend displayed a taste of an excellent result.
"Thanks go to the circuit medical team for doing a fantastic job along with the marshals."
Kurt and his twin brother, Matt, who is also recovering from a broken foot, now face a race to be fit for the final round.
Fellow Sorrymate.com rider Hiatt came eighth in the opening British Motostar, standard class, race before being taken out the second, which keeps him fifth in the table.
Martin Kirk and his passenger Shelley Smithies finished seventh and eighth in the two British Sidecar series, which keeps them 10th in championship on 100 points.
Rising teenage stars Ben Taylor, from Kidderminster, and Willenhall's Mcauley Longmore also took part in the British Junior Supersport races.
Taylor claimed a 29th and 33rd, with Longmore finishing all three races in 34th, 28th and 31st.
The final BSB round takes place October 18-20, at the Brands Hatch GP circuit, in Kent.
