WSBK Australia (1): Rea wins his first duel against Davies
Led by Melandri, Sykes, and Lowes, the first race of the 2017 World Superbike in Australia was finally played between the two very strong men of the championship: Rea and Davies. Kawasaki rider wins first round. There is one left to run in Australia … then 24 more afterwards !
Departure : Jonathan Rea started correctly from pole position while Tom Sykes took off less well from second place. But Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies arrive first in the first curve, followed by Alex Lowes, Jonathan Rea, Tom Sykes, Xavi Fores, Michael Van Den Mark, Eugene Laverty, Lorenzo Savadori, Nicky Hayden, Leon Camier, etc..
Rea passed Davies in the Honda hairpin and was joined by Sykes just before attacking Lukey Heights. Melandri therefore completed the first lap in front of the two official Ninjas. The Italian is however forced to cede the command to Rea in the straight line and must also bow to Sykes, still glued to his teammate.
Melandri takes second place by overflowing Sykes from the outside (!) At the end of the straight line at the start of the second lap. The famous n ° 33 comes out a little wide in the first curve but manages to keep the advantage on the n ° 66 … but offers half a second in advance to the "Number One".
Davies attacks Sykes at the start of the 3rd round, but unlike his teammate Melandri, passes the English Ninja from the inside. The latter is therefore ejected from the virtual podium and is only a few steps ahead of Fores, still fifth. Lowes hangs on, but the rest of the peloton led by Savadori and Laverty are dropped.
Yamaha official n ° 22 (Lowes) and private n ° 12 (Fores) brawl at the end of the 4th lap. In front, Davies managed to put the brakes on Melandri at the end of the straight line but the Welshman stumbles on Rea … The two best enemies of the WSBK widen slightly in Southern Loop: Marco takes the opportunity to take the lead of the race !
Put under pressure by Van den Mark, Camier and Torres at the head of the second group – which is closer to the first by the way! -, Lorenzo Savadori finishes this first race of the season in gravel. The great hope Aprilia will have the chance to catch up tomorrow…
Nicky Hayden takes advantage of the fall of the Italian duo to reinstate his new Honda Fireblade in the "Top Ten" … but 2.5 seconds behind the leader. Markus Reiterberger, Stefan Bradl and Randy Krummenacher fight half a second further for eleventh place.
In front, Rea seeks an opening on Melandri in the first sequence of the 7th lap, but remains in second position ahead of Davies, Sykes, Lowes and Fores. Camier breaks away from his little comrades and places his factory MV Agusta in the aspiration of the private Ducati of Fores.
The classification is jostled at the start of the 10th round: Sykes and Lowes gain three places in the first sequence of the Australian circuit! The ZX-10RR n ° 66 and the R1 n ° 22 widen a slight gap on their pursuers … Rea who does not see this with a good eye, takes third position in front of the three Ducatis of Melandri, Davies and Fores.
Driven by this twist, Alex Lowes attacks and passes Tom Sykes in the Honda hairpin! The Yamaha factory rider dominates the official Kawasaki and Ducati … and even more widely his first rival: his teammate Van Den Mark who is 2.6 seconds behind.
When the halfway mark is passed, Rea, passing Sykes moments earlier, passed Lowes in the pit straight. Has the ruthless "JR" decided to unpin to explode his opponents? Possible, because a lap later, the two-time champion is half a second ahead of Lowes, Sykes, Melandri and Davies…
Hostilities are on: Tom Sykes then Chaz Davies in turn overtake Alex Lowes to chase Jonathan Rea. Marco Melandri almost got out on the 12th pass in the Doohan Corner, then passed very close to the rear wheel of the Yamaha in the Southern Loop … Like his compatriot Savadori, he finished his race in the gravel pit.
Five Britons therefore occupy the first five places: Sykes rolls in front of Rea, Davies and Lowes are several lengths behind Camier … But the English Superbike champion (2009) is very close to Lowes (titled in BSB in 2013) while ‘there are still six laps to go !
The lap times slow down as the tires tire … Sykes is still leading, not suspecting that his team-mate Rea is quite upset by Davies and Lowes! "Johnny" must give voice – brakes especially – to hold his opponents in check and try to fill the half-second between him and Sykes.
This gap was quickly closed: with three laps from the end, Rea took advantage of the vacuum in the straight line and surprised Sykes under braking. Chaz Davies takes advantage of the door ajar by Jonathan to pass in front of Tom at the exit of the first corner … The victory is likely to be played between the n ° 1 and the n ° 7 !
The Ducati seems faster than the Kawasaki in the fast curves and manages to take its rear wheel at the exit of the long 12th curve which commands the straight line … Chaz Davies starts the last lap in the lead but widens slightly in the first corner : Rea takes the opportunity to pass it in the change of angle !
Without being dropped, Sykes is too far away to attempt any attack and must instead watch his rear: Lowes follows him like his shadow! Camier and Fores are fighting not far from there for fifth place. But all the attention is on the two leading men…
Once passed in front, Jonathan Rea continues to attack as in Superpole, but still takes care to close the doors on the last three big brakes that Philip Island has because he knows that Chaz Davies is a formidable brakeman. !
At the end of a last clear lap, the two-time world champion won this first race of the 2017 season. Winner of the last six races in 2016, Chaz Davies finished in the wheel of the Kawasaki n ° 1 and pocketed 5 points less.
On a circuit that he does not particularly appreciate, vice-world champion Tom Sykes accompanies the two big favorites for the title. Alex Lowes and Leon Camier complete a 100% British "Top Five" … Sylvain Guintoli may be missed this year !
Result of the 1st WSBK 2017 race at Phillip Island
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