WSBK Spain (2): Rea’s double in Jerez, Kawasaki’s hat-trick in WorldSBK
Boosted by Ducati yesterday, Jonathan Rea and his Ninja clearly dominated the second round of the WSBK 2017 in Jerez. Thanks to the masterful victory of its No. 1 over the No. 33 and No. 7 Panigales, Kawasaki in turn won its third consecutive world title.
In accordance with the new 2017 Superbike regulations, Alex Lowes (4th in the first race yesterday in Jerez) places his Yamaha in pole position this Sunday, ahead of his teammate Michael van der Mark and his former teammate Sylvain Guintoli (replacing Krummenacher on Kawasaki).
The second row is led by the two Aprilia Factory of Lorenzo Savadori and Eugene Laverty, followed by the private Ducati of Xavi Fores. The men on the podium are relegated to the third row: Sykes starts ahead of Chaz Davies and the winner Jonathan Rea.
Melandri receives a double penalty: the Italian poleman who was betrayed by his Ducati yesterday when he was leading the race, is forced to start from a distant 10th place on the grid today! The famous n ° 33 is therefore found behind the "Number One" … The fight promises to be just as bright as the weather !
Departure : Sylvain Guintoli took off very well from his third place and seemed able to take the lead in the first corner! A little too late on the brakes, our n ° 05 widens slightly and must let the two official Yamaha pass….
Chaz Davies and Eugene Laverty dive into the gravel pit from the second corner! Fortunately, the two riders recover unscathed: the n ° 7 Ducati manages to set off again, which is not the case with the n ° 50 Aprilia. On the track, Rea is already in third position but misses out on hairpin n ° 6 and is overtaken by Fores.
As in the first round however, the red flag interrupts the drivers in their tracks! Safety is not assured in turn 2 and Dominic Schmitter crashed heavily with his Suzuki. A rapid restart of the race procedure is initiated. The round will be contested over 19 laps…
The Aprilia Milwaukee team is working hard on the Laverty RSV4. The Irish driver leaves with his comrades for the training lap but returns to his box before the warm-up lap! His team inspects the rear axle of the machine: everything seems to be in order. Eugene can finally leave, but from the pitlane…
Second start: This time, Lowes and VDM are off to a better start and are easily ahead of our admirable Guintoli. Rea, Sykes and Davies very early pass Savadori – which falls halfway through – and Fores. Passed in front of "Guinters" at the hairpin, Jonathan does not take long to pass Alex and dislocates Michael on the first pass in front of the pits !
Chaz Davies is progressing a little slower than the triple "Number One" of the WorldSBK but still overtakes Alex Lowes at the start of the second round, soon imitated by Marco Melandri who was then ahead of Tom Sykes. Sylvain Guintoli seems to be losing ground: he is doubled by Xavi Fores and Roman Ramos !
After the fastest time in the race on the second lap, Melandri ejected Davies from the podium and chased after Van der Mark. In the following loop, Rea erases the mark of Ducati n ° 33 and isolates himself in the lead. Marco on the contrary, misses a braking and touches the rear wheel of VDM !
The Italian made another mistake moments later and returned his third place to Chaz. The Welshman takes his chance and turns up the tempo, overtaking "Magic Michael" in the 4th round! But Rea spins half a second faster than Davies and takes his lead to over 2.5 seconds at the end of lap 5.
Melandri stumbles on Van der Mark and misses again in hairpin n ° 6 … Lowes takes advantage of the hazardous trajectory of the hot Italian to climb to fourth position. Sykes is in contact with the Yamaha and the Ducati but is discreet … Xavi Fores is almost two seconds behind Tom, a second in front of our dear Sylvain.
The only driver to maintain his lap times under 1 ’41, the ruthless "JR" consolidated his lead: it was three seconds in the 7th lap. Always second, "Chazie" circulates a small second in front of Van der Mark who, with Melandri, is a little too messy to get back on his target.
Lowes and Sykes ride together but get in the way much less. Also, when VDM fails to bicker off the track – again and again! – with Marco, Alex leaps to fourth place from his teammate Michael! The latter persists and is overtaken by Tom…
In the lead since the start of the 2nd lap, the Ninja n ° 1 is close to a four second lead at the end of the 11th lap. Davies turns a little slower than the leader … but above all much slower than his teammate! In just two laps, n ° 33 takes over a second from n ° 7…
The Italian finds himself in the wake of the Welshman at the end of the 13th lap but does not attack him immediately. Fourth to just two seconds behind the factory Ducatis, Lowes and his official R1 then equaled the times of their predecessors. Sykes is on the same tempo, a second away.
More than fifteen seconds behind Rea, and 6 seconds behind Van der Mark sixth, Fores must dearly defend his place as "first private driver" against Guintoli. Through this seventh place, our compatriot is looking to score big points with the WorldSBK teams likely to hire him next year….
Melandri attacks Davies at the end of the straight, two laps from the end, and immediately passes the overdrive: on the first sector, Marco sticks four tenths in the sight of Chaz! The latter, however, cannot relax his attention in the final loop: Alex Lowes is a big half-second behind him…
Jonathan Rea signs an unstoppable double and joins Troy Bayliss "Himself" in the ranking of the most victorious riders in World Superbike: like the Australian, the Northern Irishman has won 52 races. Next – and first – on the list is "King" Carl Fogarty, with his 59 hits. !
This new victory for "Johnny" seals the third world title – also in a row – for Kawasaki in World Superbike! In the company of his teammate Tom Sykes, the "Number One" of the discipline celebrates the success of Akashi’s firm during the lap of honor.
Chaz Davies is narrowly but cleverly beaten by his fiery teammate Marco Melandri. In the championship, on the other hand, No.7 Ducati has 62 points more than No.33. More importantly, "Davies-zioso" has the same number of points as the No.66 Kawasaki (363).
In two weeks then, Sykes and Davies will battle for the title of "vice-world champion" Superbike in the night final in Qatar. Will Melandri (will he) be able to help his teammate, like Rea did to Sykes in 2016? Answer to follow on Site: stay connected !
Let us underline before leaving us – attention, appointment tomorrow for the declarations! – the very beautiful eighth place of Sylvain Guintoli! At the controls of a Kawasaki Ninja that he drove only a pair of an hour in testing and led to sixth place in the first round, the French n ° 05 ends in the aspiration of the experienced duo Xavi Drilled – Ducati Panigale R. Encorre bravo Guinto !
Result of the second WSBK 2017 race in Jerez
Related articles
-
WSBK Spain (1): Melandri’s Ducati gives Rea victory Jonathan Rea had never won a Superbike race in Jerez. It is now done, but the triple WSBK champion…
-
WSBK – WSBK Spain (1): Davies still winner, Kawasaki still champion! – Used DUCATI KAWASAKI
WSBK Spain (1): Davies still winner, Kawasaki still champion ! Starting from sixth place on the grid, Chaz Davies once again transcended in the race,…
-
WSBK Netherlands (2): new double for Rea … Sykes and Kawasaki ! According to the new regulations, Rea and Sykes had to start from the back of the third…
-
03-13 Spain – Aragon – WSBK Aragon (1): Rea makes Davies crack in the first round – Used KAWASAKI
WSBK Aragon (1): Rea makes Davies crack in the first round Author of pole position this morning in Aragon, Chaz Davies seemed able to win the first…
-
WorldSBK Italy (1): Rea and Kawasaki drop Italian motorcycles at home Large winner of the Superpole this morning at Imola, Jonathan Rea did not give his…
-
WSBK United States (2): Rea signals the start of the holidays … and his rivals ! Arrived only second in the first American round yesterday, Jonathan…
-
07-13 Czech Republic – Brno – WorldSBK Rep. Czech (1): 60th victory for the god Rea! – Used KAWASAKI
WorldSBK Rep. Czech (1): 60th victory for the god Rea ! The first round of the 2018 Superbike World Championship in Brno marks the end of the first half…
-
WSBK – WSBK Qatar (1): Davies again winner, Rea again champion! – Used DUCATI KAWASAKI
WSBK Qatar (1): Davies again winner, Rea again champion ! Unbeatable lately, Chaz Davies won his tenth race of the season tonight at Losail. Second in…
-
WSBK – WSBK Spain (1): another double for Aprilia –
WSBK Spain (1): another double for the Aprilia Leader during three quarters of this first Superbike race in Jerez, Guintoli could do nothing against his…
-
WorldSBK Qatar (1): Rea masters, Lowes , Laverty and Baz electrify ! Beaten by Sykes in the Superpole at the Losail circuit, Rea took revenge by winning…