WSBK Italy (1): Sykes winner of an incredible elimination race (s)
Dominated by Van der Mark, Davies, Rea and Melandri throughout the event, Tom Sykes finally won the first round of the WSBK 2017 in Misano! Lowes also has the chance to stand on the podium, ahead of the miraculous Rea. Davies took a nasty blow…
Departure : Jonathan Rea sets off perfectly from second place on the grid and dives into the lead in the first series of turns. Michael van der Mark attacks the first viarge outside Tom Sykes and swoops in for second place in the second corner !
Chaz Davies fought Sykes for third for the first half of the course and won before attacking the fast portion of the circuit where it was almost impossible to strike back. Marco Melandri, Alex Lowes, Eugene Laverty, Leon Camier, Xavi Fores and Randy Krummenacher complete the Top 10.
Rea completed the first lap just ahead of VDM, but the Dutchman overtook the Northern Irishman in the first sequence! Davies finds himself in Rea’s wake … Melandri brakes Sykes on the second pass in turn 8 Quercia. Sykes finds himself fifth, under threat from Lowes.
Melandri signs the fastest lap in the race in the second lap but does not manage to take the aspi of his teammate … who overtakes Rea when braking the Quercia and takes the lead of the race! The four leading men move away slightly from Sykes and Lowes. Laverty, Camier and Fores are already more than two seconds away.
On the 3rd lap, Van der Mark almost equaled Melandri‘s benchmark time and was spared a half-second lead over Davies and Rea, still followed by Melandri. Lowes, meanwhile, quickly loses contact with Sykes. The rest of the peloton gradually stretches out.
In front on the contrary, the gaps are narrower in the 5th lap: the four leading men are held in the same second! Sykes is a few steps behind Melandri still posted in fourth place behind Rea, preceded by Davies and Van der Mark.
Two seconds away, Camier is adjusting Laverty’s RSV4 in his F4’s viewfinder: the Italian public, already delighted to see two Ducatis fighting for victory, is delighted to see these two British riders fighting for seventh place! Leon overtakes Eugene on the 7th lap. Next goal: Lowes, two seconds ahead…
Torres and Fores in turn catch up with Laverty: the three men are fighting for 8th place as if the world title was at stake! A little faster at the controls of his BMW n ° 81, the "Spanish Elvis" plays elbows and hips … He wins on the Ducati n ° 12 then on the Aprilia n ° 50.
Meanwhile, Yamaha # 60 raises the tempo and erases Melandri’s lap record! 10 laps from the end, VDM has a good second ahead of Davies … then Rea which overtakes the Ducati n ° 7 in order to launch in pursuit of the surprising leader !
The "Number One" completed the 12th lap half a second faster than the n ° 60. Under pressure, Van der Mark whips his Yamaha but cannot prevent Rea’s return … Davies and Melandri do their best to stay in the Kawasaki’s wake.
Van den Mark crashed into the 13th corner of the 13th lap, at high speed! The rear of his Yamaha slipped but fortunately did not hang up the asphalt: in his misfortune, "Magic Michael" passed by a huge highside. He gives up the race … and leads the race to Rea !
Forced to sneak off the track to avoid the R1, the Ninja is picked up by the two Panigales! Davies seizes his chance and attacks with more force, never leaving the backsplash of the ZX-10R! Melandri is also re-motivated by the incident and remains in the rear wheel – without a hood – of his teammate…
Jonathan Rea must hear the n ° 7 Panigale rumble behind him and tighten his trajectories as much as possible. Davies goes much faster in the curves but cannot find the opening … until the first corner of the 18th lap !
"Chazie" wins over "Johnny" when braking the first corner and opens the door to Melandri! The two factory Ducatis come out of the third corner in front of the official Kawasaki n ° 1 and under the cheers of the public! There are then less than three laps to go. We learn that Leon Camier, victim of a technical problem on his F4, ended up falling.
Rea passes Melandri on the penultimate lap. The "Number One" was half a second behind the leader but reduced the gap to almost nothing at the end of the 20th lap. Unable to keep up with the pace of the two leading men, Melandri fell from the fourth corner of the last lap! The Italian offers his third place to Sykes.
Up front, the magnificent duel between the two very strong men of the World Superbike intensifies: Davies dominates Rea in the winding section but is joined in the next very fast section. It’s the Ducati rider’s turn to hear the Kawasaki roar !
Three turns from the checkered flag, Chaz loses the front at low speed: literally placed behind his back, Jonathan rolls over the unfortunate Welshman and falls in his turn! The two pilots get up instantly to raise their machines…
Taking advantage of this double fall – and those of Melandri and Van den Mark … -, Tom Sykes inherits the controls of the race and wins a few seconds later. Alex Lowes takes the second step of the podium finally completed by Jonathan Rea.
Chaz Davies for his part, was unable to leave: he was evacuated from the runway on a stretcher and is immediately taken care of by the medical team in the passageways. Worried Jonathan Rea stops his Kawasaki in the lap of honor and pays a visit to his best enemy.
Back in the parc ferme, the two-time world champion confirms that Chaz has taken a serious blow to the chest but is conscious. By his own admission, his third place is anecdotal. Likewise, compatriots Sykes and Lowes are not completely happy with their result this afternoon..
Hopefully the World Superbike paddock will smile again before the second round tomorrow: Chaz Davies was quickly transported to Rimini hospital to undergo further medical examinations. Site remains connected…
Result of the 1st WSBK 2017 race in Misano
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