Tom Sykes continued his Donington dominance after securing a seventh successive win at the circuit in the Superbike World Championship.
The 30-year-old Yorkshireman, champion in 2013, claimed Superpole in Race 1 after posting the fastest lap at the venue of one minute 26.712 seconds.
A mistake saw the Kawasaki rider drop to fourth but he eventually overtook Davide Giugliano and a close battle followed before he denied the Italian his maiden World Superbike win by crossing the line 2.8 seconds clear.
Jonathan Rea, the Championship leader and defending champion, finished third ahead of fellow Briton Leon Camier with American Nicky Hayden, having claimed his maiden World Superbike victory in Malaysia last time out, back in fifth.
A late error resulted in IodaRacing's Lorenzo Savadori, who won the STK1000 race at Donington last year and who began on the front row, finishing in sixth.
Chaz Davies, also a front-row starter, saw his race end early when he crashed for a second time and is now 58 points behind Rea with third-placed Sykes moving to within three points ahead of Race 2 on Sunday.
Source: PA
