WSBK Aragon (2): Davies debunks Rea from the top of the podium
Falling during the last two Superbike races while competing for victory against the invincible Jonathan Rea, Chaz Davies finally managed to beat the "Number One" of the WSBK, this afternoon in Aragon! Marco Melandri adds a touch of red – Ducati – to the second Spanish podium…
Fourth in the first race, Alex Lowes started from pole position this Sunday. He is followed on the first row by his team-mate Michal van den Mark and Jordi Torres. In the second row are installed Leandro Mercado, Eugene Laverty and Stefan Bradl.
To spice up the race, the three men on the podium yesterday are relegated to third place: Tom Sykes places his n ° 66 Kawasaki ahead of the n ° 33 Ducati of Marco Melandri and the Kawasaki "Number One" of Jonathan Rea, undefeated this season…
Departure : The two Yamaha got off to a good start but Laverty slipped his RSV4 under Van den Mark’s R1. The n ° 60 retaliated a few curves later and recovered "his" second place. Sykes, Melandri then Rea in turn overtake the Irishman who is clearly not in the same rhythm.
Lowes completed the 1st lap in the lead, half a second ahead of his teammate and a second ahead of the peloton led by Rea, yes already! Sykes, Melandri, Davies, Mercado, Laverty, Bradl and Hayden complete the Top 10. Three Spanish drivers follow: Ramos, Torres and Fores.
Rea overtakes VDM in the pif-paf which commands the long descent from Aragon. The double world champion runs almost a second faster than the leader Lowes! Ninja n ° 1 is found in the backsplash of n ° 22 in the middle of the 3rd round but does not engage in combat.
A few lengths behind, Marco Melandri brakes Michael van den Mark at the end of the return straight. Chaz Davies, Tom Sykes and Leandro Mercado remain in contact with the leading men. Laverty, Bradl, Torres, Fores, Hayden and Camier make up a nice second group.
Rea sets the pace in the lead during this first third of the race. Melandri, Lowes, Van den Mark follow without difficulty, Sykes is slightly behind while Mercado begins to let go. Davies goes on the attack at the very start of the 7th lap, jumping over fourth place from Van den Mark on first braking.
The Welshman continued his ascent on the return straight and climbed on the podium, beating Rea’s fastest time in the race on the second lap. The Kawasaki n ° 1 now drives in front of the two factory Ducatis and the two official Yamaha. The second Ninja is dropped more than two seconds…
Patient and cautious, "Chazie" waits for the start of the 10th lap to pass his team-mate: lodged in Marco’s wheel in the short straight line of the pits, the n ° 7 Ducati shifts to the first braking and seizes the second cleanly. place n ° 33 !
Alex Lowes is lost at the entrance of the 14th corner and offers his teammate Michael van den Mark his fourth place. The English n ° 22 joins the track in a distant 13th place, seven seconds behind his compatriot Leon Camier who occupies the twelfth place on the handlebars of the unique MV Agusta.
On his Ducati, Davies opens hostilities with Rea at the start of the 12th lap, overtaking the double world champion when braking the first corner! The "Welsh dragon" retains command in the following sequence …. and no doubt hopes that Melandri in turn doubles the ruthless – unbeatable? – "JR"…
Davies sets a record time on lap 13 but Rea only concedes a few hundredths of a second! Melandri is very hot at the change of angle between turns 12 and 13 but remains in contact with the British despite this.
Van den Mark, on the other hand, is completely let down: the Dutchman is relegated to seven seconds, that is to say within reach of Sykes, who turns much faster! Six seconds later, Fores, Torres and Mercado are fighting for sixth place. Laverty rides alone in 9th place while Ramos, Camier and Bradl fight for the "Top Ten".
At the head of the race, Melandri takes advantage of the straight line to pass Rea! The Italian retains second place in the double left, but is ironed in the first portion of the 16th lap. The "Number One" gradually accelerates, gets rid of the famous n ° 33 and goes up on its best enemy at n ° 7…
Davies sets the fastest time of the race on the penultimate lap but Rea manages to catch up with the leader in the first half of the last lap. "Johnny" momentarily passes "Chazie" but the latter does not crack and immediately takes control of the race. !
Jonathan Rea launches a last attack in the middle of the last chicane, shifting his Ninja on the outside of the Panigale at the exit of the "snitch" … The more tense trajectory of the "Number One" crosses that of Davies more fluid. The latter opens the throttle earlier than Rea at the exit of the "paf" and keeps the first place until the checkered flag. !
Defeated by KO in the last two WSBK races ((Buriram 2 and Aragon 1), Davies interrupts Rea’s winning streak since the opening of the 2017 season at Phillip Island and scavenges five points in the provisional standings: 145 (out of 150! ) for Jonathan, 95 for Chaz…
Once again on the Spanish podium, Marco Melandri climbs back more clearly on Tom Sykes in the championship: the Ducati n ° 33 totals 81 points, against 91 for the Kawasaki n ° 66. Penalized by his departure from the track, Alex Lowes scores two small points and still finishes the World Top 5.
Next points distribution: April 29th and 30th on the TT circuit in Assen in the Netherlands. But stay tuned: site will publish tomorrow the statements of Superbike … and Supersport riders !
Result of the 2nd WSBK 2017 race in Aragon
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