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on his R9 to take third. He didn't seem that keen on the R9 triple when it replaced his old partner, the R6, but the R9 has rejuve- nated almost every rider that has one underneath him. For the first time, the WorldSSP machines had their version of the balancing rules instigated: added weight to the Yamahas only from Donington on. Of course, both Donington races were won by Yamaha riders, with another two podium places going to a third R9, so the immediate efficacy is possibly wanting at this stage, at least. The penalty for the R9s, from Donington on, is to have 11 pounds added to the hard mini - mum weight (of the machine) from 355 pounds to 366 pounds. In race two, Manzi ran wide early on at the Melbourne loop and lost several places, having to fight his way back through the field to finish seventh. The second race was finally won by bLU cRU Evan Bros rider Can Oncu, who pounced on Booth-Amos with four laps to go, just as the second dream of a British rider/bike/team race win at Donington was within touch - ing distance. Mahias was again third, and just 1.8 seconds back from Oncu. In the overall points standings, Manzi has 244, Oncu 199 and Booth-Amos 182. WorldWCR Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) won race one in sunny conditions, while pole setter Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) was second by just 0.155 of a second. Local rider Chloe Jones (GR Motor - sport) finished third, just one second from the victory. And the crowd went suitably wild. Sara Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) was fourth. It had been another tight and tough WorldWCR race at the very front, but it would get even rougher in the second race for some of the riders, at least. Jones would fall in race two after contact with Herrera on the very last lap, with Neila running out the winner for the second time this year. Sanchez placed second and Herrera third. The British crowd made their feelings clear when Herrera got her trophy, but the collision with Jones was deemed as a rac - ing incident by the officials and most neutral observers, as she had gone into the Melbourne loop a bit deep and was con- tacted on the cutback by Her- rera, who was making the most of the space that had suddenly opened up. The action at the very front of the WorldWCR did not disap - point again, and there were even some new stars to watch, as Lucie Boudesseul (GMT94-Ya- maha) was a very close fourth in race two, with Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) fifth. Boudesseul had earlier been fifth in race one. In the championship, after three rounds and six races, Her - rera has 131 points, Neila 122 and Sanchez 89. Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Race 1 (Top 5) 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) 23 Laps 2. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) 6.535 3. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) 11.775 4. Andrea Locatelli (Yam) 14.446 5. Jonathan Rea (Yam) 16.160 Superpole Race (Top 5) 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) 10 Laps 2. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) 2.804 3. Sam Lowes (Duc) 3.874 4. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) 4.420 5. Andrea Locatelli (Yam) 6.943 WorldSBK Race 2 (Top 5) 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) 23 Laps 2. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) 2.946 3. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) 3.135 4. Andrea Locatelli (Yam) 10.724 5. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) 12.401 WIND IN THE P58 Beatriz Neila got a win in race two of the WorldWCR class, her second of the season.