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 round. But Jonathan Rea and his Kawasaki pushed the Welsh rider and his Ducati to the limit: the "Number One" continues its perfect start to the season….
Departure : Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes’ two official Kawasaki reared up when the red lights went out, allowing poleman Chaz Davies to take control of the race. Also off to a good start, Marco Melandri slips his Panigale under Tom Sykes’ Ninja.
Xavi Fores, Leandro Mercado, Eugene Laverty, Michael van den Mark, Stefan Bradl, and Nicky Hayden complete the Top 10 at the start of this first round. In front, Rea seizes the command from the first passage in the Spanish "corkscrew".
Davies takes advantage of the return straight to take the reins of this first race. On the contrary, his teammate Melandri was overtaken by Sykes who was then half a second behind the leaders. The English driver tries to get back on the Northern Irishman and the Welshman in the 2nd lap.
Melandri turns the fastest on the track, but Fores manages to stay in her wake! A few lengths away from these Ducati n ° 33 and n ° 12, the Yamaha n ° 60 of Van den Mark goes up then leads the peloton. Mercado, Bradl, Laverty and Hayden form the Top 10 but Torres, Lowes and Ramos are right behind them.
Davies and Rea accelerate slightly in the 3rd lap. Sykes lost contact and was put under pressure by Melandri who almost equaled the times of the leaders. Marco passes in front of Tom on the first braking of the 4th lap. Xavi Fores and his private Ducati fit immediately into the rear wheel of the Kawa n ° 66…
Very quick at the start of the race, Van den Mark was just two seconds behind Fores … who lost the front in the first corner of the 5th lap! The unfortunate Spanish left in last position, giving up his pretty fifth place to the Dutch, pursued by the Argentinian Mercado soon passed by the English Lowes, the German Bradl, the Irish Laverty, the American Hayden and the other Spanish Torres.
In the aspiration of Chaz Davies since the second round, Jonathan Rea manages to pass outside his best enemy in the 7th round! The Welshman, however, is not taken aback and retaliates at the start of the next lap, putting the brakes on "Number One" in the very first corner..
The overtaking continued on a half loop, then Davies took a half-second lead over Rea on the 8th lap. Behind, Melandri took advantage of the battle to climb within a second of Rea … Sykes does not give up and remains in the pots of the Ducati n ° 33.
"Johnny" signs the fastest lap in the race at the halfway mark. The rider of the Kawasaki n ° 1 takes various paths behind the Ducati n ° 7, as if he was making an inventory of the possible attacks in the very last laps! Melandri is dropped again over two seconds, Sykes over three.
Seven seconds behind the inseparable leading duo, the two official Yamaha are fighting for fifth place! Van den Mark is ahead of Lowes but the Englishman is credited with a better time. Mercado and Torres are fighting for seventh place. Bradl, Laverty and Hayden are fighting for ninth place in this first round … and last place in the second row on the starting grid tomorrow afternoon !
Alex Lowes came out of his reserve with five laps to go, impeccably passing his team-mate VDM in the pit straight. Jordi Torres is also in great shape at the end of the race and gets rid of Mercado, aiming in turn for the Yamaha n ° 60…
Three seconds behind Chaz Davies and Jonathan Rea, Marco Melandri achieves sublime glides under acceleration on the handlebars of his Ducati. The n ° 33 is not in difficulty however and turns slightly faster than Tom Sykes who seems to give up the gas three laps from the end.
Rea on the contrary attacks Davies at the beginning of the 15th round but widens slightly and is ironed. The n ° 7 widens in his turn a few curves later but, this time, remains behind the n ° 1 until the end of the loop … Stuck to his opponent at the exit of the last corner, "Chazie" attacks a again on the brakes !
The Welshman achieves a sublime overtaking at the end of the straight line of the pits: it is while sliding from the back that he registers his Ducati in the first corner, joins the rope without incident and instantly sets off again! Chaz is at the top of his game.
In the penultimate lap unfortunately, kept under pressure by Jonathan Rea a little faster in the winding, Chaz Davies pushes a little too much: when braking the long straight, the Red tilts his bike a little too much, loses the grip and control of his bike !
The Ducati rider finished the race on a long slide, his motorcycle – upside down – between his legs … Chaz got up without damage but not without regret. He is terribly angry for falling a second time in a row when he had victory in his sights.
The ruthless "JR" just has to unroll to win the fifth race of the year … and the 200th for a British rider in World Superbike! Behind Jonathan Rea, Marco Melandri hoists his Ducati to second place on the podium, Tom Sykes places his Kawa on third.
The two official Yamaha of Lowes and Van den Mark completed the Top 5 of this first Aragonese round, ten seconds behind the winner. First Spanish, Torres and BMW are widely imposed on Mercado and its Aprilia. Laverty on the other hand had to whip his RSV4 to the end to beat Bradl and Hayden on Honda.
See you tomorrow for the Supersport race (start at 11:30 am) and the second Superbike round (1:00 pm). Stay connected !
Result of the 1st WSBK 2017 race in Aragon
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