13-13 Qatar – Losail – WorldSBK Qatar (1): Rea masters, Lowes, Laverty and Baz electrify! – Used KAWASAKI

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WorldSBK Qatar (1): Rea masters, Lowes, Laverty and Baz electrify !

13-13 Qatar - Losail - WorldSBK Qatar (1): Rea masters, Lowes, Laverty and Baz electrify! - Used KAWASAKI

Beaten by Sykes in the Superpole at the Losail circuit, Rea took revenge by winning a clean – and 17th! – victory this season. Lowes and Laverty fought an epic battle until the last corner for the third step of the podium… And Baz dazzled us at the end of the race !

The official Aprilias were doing well in Qatar … Site readers – who, as everyone knows, have a little more memory than the others – mainly remember that it is on this circuit as flat as it is fast that Sylvain Guintoli and his RSV4 had won their 2014 title, against Tom Sykes and his ZX-10R.

The following year, Leon Haslam and Jordi Torres took turns on the top step of the Qatari podium, just before the Noale factory withdrew from the world championship. But yesterday, Eugene Laverty returned to tradition, hoisting his Aprilia (private) to the top of the timesheet.

Tonight in Superpole 2, on the other hand, the Irish driver n ° 50 was able to sign "only" the fourth fastest time. He will be accompanied in second row by his Italian teammate Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia n ° 32) and by the Spaniard Xavi Fores, drafted in SP1 at the controls of his private Ducati n ° 12 !

Beaten by Laverty and separated by eight thousandths of a second at the end of the three free practice sessions on Friday (!), Jonathan "Champion" Rea and Tom "Super" Sykes managed to transcend themselves on soft tires. The n ° 1 almost equaled his lap record set last year … but the n ° 66 beat him !

Sykes will therefore place his Ninja at the top of the starting grid for the sixth time this season … and for the 48th time in his World Superbike career! Less swift on hard tires, he will have to beware of Rea who will start behind him, and Alex Lowes who will complete the first row of this first round..

Sixth on the first day, Loris Baz qualifies with a brilliant seventh place on the handlebars of his BMW S1000RR n ° 7. The "Guepard Haut-Savoyard" will be ahead of two riders who have scored a double this year: Michael van der Mark (Yamaha n ° 60) and Marco Melandri (Ducati n ° 33). The second in the championship, Chaz Davies (Ducati n ° 7) will start from a distant 12th place…

DepartureJonathan Rea gets a better start than Tom Sykes and turns in front of his teammate, Alex Lowes, Eugene Laverty, Xavi Fores, Marco Melandri, Lorenzo Savadori, razga, Michael van der Mark, Chaz Davies, Loris Baz, etc. The "Number One" achieves an impeccable first lap which slowly but surely stretches the peloton…

At the start of the second lap, Laverty passed Lowes and followed Sykes … Does the Irishman look down on Rea to go away alone in the lead? The Northern Irish champion is three quarters of a second ahead at the start of the third round. And he’s the fastest on the track !

Fores fails to keep pace with him and quickly loses contact with the Sykes, Laverty and Lowes trio. Starting from ninth place on the grid, Melandri still occupies sixth place but barely manages to follow the Spanish n ° 12. A big second behind Marco, Van der Mark opens the track to two turbulent drivers…

The 4th lap is indeed animated by Davies and Razgatlioglu who are fighting for the eighth place … or the seventh of Van der Mark rather? Just behind them, Savadori just watches. Baz does everything possible to raise his BMW n ° 76 to the height of Aprilia n ° 32…

Jonathan Rea is a big second ahead. A fine calculator, the ruthless JR seems to follow his pace on that of his teammate. "Johnny" is not only aiming for victory: he wants to beat the WSBK record for victories in one season (he absolutely has to double the stake in Qatar) and seeks to beat his points total recorded in 2017 (he only needs more than 37)…

A second and a half behind the second factory Kawasaki (the n ° 66, from Sykes, you follow?), Lowes and Laverty exchange third place in the 6th lap … The Yamaha n ° 22 seems more efficient in the winding portions of the route, while Aprilia n ° 50 is faster in the last fast sector and in the straight line !

Another second and a half later, Fores and Melandri follow the laps more wisely because they both ride 1199 Panigale R. Team Barni’s n ° 12 holds up to factory n ° 33 … The second official machine , n ° 7, moved up to seventh position. She turns a little faster than her sisters, but is two seconds late.

Shortly after the halfway point, Baz entered the Top 10, overtaking Savadori! Our "international" pilot is found in the aspiration of Razgatlioglu. The Turkish rookie and his private No. 54 Kawasaki are quickly (a) beaten by "Bazooka". Loris continues to attack in hopes of recovering VDM which precedes him by a good second.

With six laps to go, Jonathan Rea gradually slows down, but his pursuers slow down even more! The lead of the "Number One" exceeds two seconds on Sykes, four seconds on the duo Laverty and Lowes, eight seconds on the duo Fores and Melandri, eleven seconds on Davies, twelve on Van der Mark joined by Baz…

Our dear n ° 76 spins almost half a second faster than his Dutch target: with three laps from the end, Loris finds himself able to attack Michael! The latter unfortunately takes the aspiration of Chaz Davies in the straight line and takes a few lengths at Baz…

However, in a few turns, the Frenchman climbs back into the rear wheel of Yamaha n ° 22 … which attacks Ducati n ° 7! Too generous in his attack, "Magic Michael" slips away on the outside of the turn and has to let "Chazie" pass, remained on the right path.

Loris took advantage of Van der Mark’s gap to overtake him and passed Davies in the process. Much faster – enduring in fact – than his two rivals, our worthy representative escapes with a nice booty: a seventh place, synonymous with fourth place on the grid tomorrow !

While the first two steps of the podium have been locked for a long time – too long … – by the two factory Kawasaki, the official Yamaha and the Aprilia offer us a beautiful finale! Lowes is keen to stay ahead of Laverty to avoid getting dropped off in the last stretch.

More dazzling than the Qatari spotlights, Alex and Eugene fight and literally rub fairing against fairing in an attempt to gain the upper hand in the final loop. The English n ° 22 slips his R1 under the RSV4 of the Irish n ° 50 in the middle of the fast triple right…

Lowes tackles the final turn in the lead and takes a half-defensive trajectory so as not to be surprised on the brakes, half-offensive so as not to be taxed when accelerating … Laverty for his part, tries to stick to the closer to his opponent.

The conclusion of this formidable "remake" of Dovizioso-Marquez fight inevitably ends with a miraculously saved loss of the front! In the role of the savior this time: Laverty, who perfectly plays the five-time MotoGP champion.

Legitimately disappointed to fail at the foot of the podium this Friday evening, Eugene Laverty can already console himself by imagining himself starting from pole position tomorrow, far, far ahead of his tough opponent Alex Lowes. The Yamaha rider will start from third place, ahead of Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea.

For Loris Baz, this first Qatari race is completely satisfactory. Thanks to a mistake by Fores on the last lap, the French driver finally finished sixth and thus equaled his best result of the season. He will start tomorrow from outside the first row, next to Melandri (fifth).

See you tomorrow for the last Superbike race of the season (start at 6 p.m., like today). And don’t miss the World Supersport 2018 final: Jules Cluzel is in a position to clinch his first world title. Stay connected !

Result of the 1st WSBK 2018 race in Losail

13-13 Qatar - Losail - WorldSBK Qatar (1): Rea masters, Lowes, Laverty and Baz electrify! - Used KAWASAKI

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