After the long straights of Monza in Italy at the last round, Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) is confident that Donington's 4.023 kilometres of undulation and its tighter characteristics will allow his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade to maximise the potential of its nimble chassis and the recent advances made in the bike's new-for-2013 electronics package.

Rea took fourth place in race-one at Donington last season and followed it up with a victory in the second outing and, with recent developments concentrating on his machine's corner exit and acceleration, he is optimistic for the coming weekend. The 26-year-old from Northern Ireland is keen to get back on to the podium that he visited for the first time this season at Assen in The Netherlands at the end of April.

"Donington has always been an exciting track for me" said Jonathan Rea "and, being the first home round of the year, it's always special to ride with friends and family there in support. Of course, the weather can sometimes be a little unfriendly, so I'm hoping it'll stay dry for the weekend because I think Donington can be a strong circuit for us. It will be a really good opportunity to try to exploit the positive aspects of the bike. Of course, we'll work hard through the practice and qualifying sessions to try and get a good grid position for Sunday, but I'm feeling optimistic."

Sam Lowes (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha) approaches his home Round as new Championship leader, following his 2nd race win of the season at Monza and a turnaround of events that saw Kenan Sofuoglu's crash on lap 4 and the withdrawal by Fabien Foret (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport) from the final restart - as both were involved in the multiple crash that led to the third red flag in an hectic day for Supersport riders.

The English venue is a special place for the 22 year old, who scored his maiden Supersport race win last year on this very track -  ahead of Sofuoglu - and has recently moved to Derby, 20km far from the circuit.

While Foret was diagnosed with no major injuries after a hospital check-up, van der Mark sustained multiple fractures in his left foot and he is currently recovering in the UK, together with Superbike team mate Leon Haslam. Both riders are set to tackle the Donington Park Round.

Injured David Salom's place in the Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki Team will be taken once again by Frenchman Florian Marino, who battled for race victory at Monza up to the chequered flag and ended up with an outstanding 2nd place. Scotsman Kev Coghlan (DMC-Lorenzini Kawasaki) will aim for his first podium in the series after showing some good performance in the 5-way battle for rostrum positions in the last round.

Irishman Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda) and Christian Iddon (ParkinGo MV Agusta Corse) are two riders to watch for the upcoming race, as both rookies know Donington Park like the back of their hand, having competed last year in the British Supersport Championship with strong results - 1st and 2nd place at Donington Park for Kennedy, 3rd for Iddon in race 2.

Reigning British Supersport Champion Glen Richards and team mate Billy McConnell will once again line up for the European round onboard their Smiths Triumph Daytona 675. Last year both Australians finshed the race within the top-10 and were 5th and 9th respectively at the flag. One event participation and Supersport debut for Dutchman Tony Covena: the Nito Racing Kawasaki rider is currently tackling his fourth season in the Superstock 600 European Championship.

The eni FIM Superbike World Championship has gone "wet'n'wild" today at Donington Park. The Round 5 Pre-event saw a selection of riders from the UK and Ireland taking part in a hilarious competition made up of three challenges - Perilous Pendulum, Penguin Punch-Up and Supersuds. Of the eight riders present, only six of them took part in the action - as Leon Camier and Leon Haslam were not in physical condition to tackle the games.

The remaining riders were divided into 3 pairs: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was joined by current World Supersport leader Sam Lowes (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha), while Aprilia's Eugene Laverty was flanked by BMW's Chaz Davies. Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda) and Christian Iddon (ParkinGo MV Agusta Corse) made a unique Supersport double act.

The opening challenge - Perilous Pendulum - saw all riders taking turns on rotating platforms whilst trying to avoid a swinging pendulum that was thrown at them by the opposing teams. The winning duo was Jack Kennedy and Christian Iddon, who managed to survive with only one swap.

Following a chase between the riders, dressed for the occasion in a penguin suit, Penguin Punch-Up would see a final duel between the two penguin "riders" still standing. The two final fights were won by Christian Iddon and Tom Sykes, who proved their combat skills in the ring. The fights were so intense that Sykes tried some unorthodox moves to defeat his opponent Chaz Davies.

However, the Welshman had his revenge in the final challenge as both he and Eugene Laverty were able to retrieve all of the dirty socks from a huge inflatable washing machine full of foam the fastest time. Sam Lowes took this final stage very seriously, stripping to his underwear before diving into the spinner much to the amusement of the crowd.

After adding together the points, Christian Iddon and Jack Kennedy were crowned as winners and awarded a bottle of Prosecco. The fans then chose their favourite player, which ended in a tie between Tom Sykes and Sam Lowes.

HRC Executive Vice President Shuhei Nakamoto speaks with motogp.com, explaining that the bike to be offered to private teams from next year is now in the final stages of its development and on the verge of being track tested.