The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team is fielding substitute riders Tito Rabat and Ivo Lopes for this weekend’s WorldSBK round at Donington Park in the UK, the seventh championship event of the 2025 season.

Rabat has not ridden the CBR1000RR-R until now, while Lopes is competing at Donington for the first time, so both riders made the most of the morning’s free practice, which fortunately ran in dry, sunny conditions. Working with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda technicians for the first time, Spaniard Rabat took a methodical approach as he began to understand a package that is new to him. By the end of this opening practice, Tito had set a best of 1’28.793. On the other side of the garage, Portuguese rider Lopes also made gradual progress throughout this initial practice. Not yet at ease on this challenging track, Ivo set a fastest time of 1’29.641.

Back on track a few hours later for FP2, Rabat and Lopes resumed their work, continuing to build confidence with the tricky track and their Honda machinery. Tito was able to improve on his FP1 reference almost immediately, his lap times slowly moving in the right direction. A fastest time of 1’28.280 saw the Spaniard round out Friday in twenty-third place, less than two seconds from first. Lopes continued to get to grips with the tricky layout while working with his technicians to prepare for the races. Twenty-fourth at the end of day one, Ivo set a best time of 1’29.321.

Tito Rabat #53

“We made a great start today, I think. It’s not easy to begin with a new bike directly on a race weekend, but we were nevertheless able to close 1.9 seconds from the front, which is positive. We can see many areas in which to improve and have plenty of scope in terms of modifying the electronics, for example. The CBR1000RR-R feels different to other bikes I’ve ridden, with different suspension setup and brakes, so I’m adapting to that. But the bike is nice to ride, we just need to keep working and continue to close the gap every time we head out. I’m confident we can put together a great race weekend.”

Ivo Lopes #75

“We knew it would be difficult this weekend as the championship level is so high, and I’d never ridden at this track until today. It takes time to interpret, but I don’t think today went too badly, considering that I don’t know the track and haven’t ridden the bike this year. We need to continue working to adapt the bike to my style and we had a few problems in terms of corner exit, where I’m lacking a little drive, but we have some ideas for tomorrow and can hopefully keep moving in the right direction.”