WSBK – Statements and analysis of the Superbike in Donington – Analysis of the World Superbike in Donington

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Donington Superbike Statements and Analysis

WSBK - Statements and Analysis of the Superbike in Donington - Analysis of the World Superbike in Donington

The fifth round of the World SBK 2013 took place yesterday in Donington, England. To complete our live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders as well as the Website analysis of the two European races.

Analysis of the World Superbike in Donington

Since its return to the World Superbike calendar, the Donington Park meeting has continued to be postponed throughout the season – end of March in 2011, mid-May in 2012, end of May this year … – with the aim of meet better driving conditions…

But on Friday morning, we counted on the fingers of one hand the number of pilots venturing out of their boxes to brave the rain and the cold! Fortunately, the sun decided to reappear on Saturday and, more importantly, on Sunday, allowing the pilots to make the most of their powerful machines..

Officially "European", this fifth round was played on British soil, so that the English (Sykes, Haslam, Camier, Rea), Irish (Laverty) and Welsh (Davies) drivers were keen to shine at home, just like our Frenchie Guintoli from elsewhere, domiciled two turns of the wheel from the circuit !

In the end, it is one of them who stood out yesterday: Tom Sykes! But the Supersport category, too, was dominated by a single subject of his Majesty: Lowes … Sam Lowes. Not to be confused with Alex, his twin who currently dominates the British Superbike !

Sam undoubtedly deserved the standing ovation offered him by the British public at the end of "his" race. The n ° 11 driver of Team Yakhnich Motorsport has indeed delivered a score devoid of the slightest false note, throughout this weekend !

Be prepared…

Consistently at the top of the timesheets during practice, Lowes performed a superb solo on Sunday afternoon on his Yamaha perfectly tuned to the track. His fans, as well as his opponents, will long remember this brilliant singlehanded race..

Like a metronome, Sam only turned above 1 ’31 during his first and last laps … Even the great specialist in the discipline, the three-time world champion Kenan Sofuoglu, could not follow! "I wanted to win this race at all costs", he reported last night.

But Sam Lowes aims even higher: "from now on it’s the regularity that will count. We must be satisfied with 2nd or 3rd places where we will not be able to go for the victory". And beyond the 2013 Supersport title, the 22-year-old rider dreams of Superbike…

As a reminder, moreover, his boss Alexander Yakhnich declared last winter: "our goal is to bring our two pilots (Lowes and the Russian Inamov, Editor’s note) at the highest level, even the Superbike World Championship. That’s why we signed a long term contract with them"(read).

For the moment, the plan of the Russian team, supported by Yamaha Europe, is going without a hitch: leading the Supersport championship, Sam Lowes was right to bet on the R6. Will he benefit from such a good machine when he moves up to the Superbike category? Mystery !

Finally, we salute Roberto Rolfo’s third place at the helm of his F3. As we told you yesterday in the Superport race report, this is the big comeback of the MV Agusta brand on an international podium, "the same day of the Memorial Castiglioni 2013 which was held at the MV factory in Schiranna", adds the constructor (read).

In the Superbike category this time, all the honors go to Tom Sykes! Like Lowes in SSP, Sykes didn’t give his SBK opponents a chance. The victories of No.66 were no surprise, no error and no division: he led each of the 23 laps of two races this Sunday !

Author for the fourth time this season of the Superpole and the best time in the race, the Kawasaki rider has above all succeeded in accomplishing what his rivals feared at the highest point: to be as constant as he is fast … The English rider thus signs the first doubled in his career, the second of the season after Davies in Aragon.

Ground control to Major Tom

Still a little green last year against the RSV4, the ZX-10R is in the process of becoming the new benchmark of the field. Loris Baz’s excellent 5th and 7th places – on the world circuit for exactly a year, happy birthday "Bazooka"! – are there to prove it.

Officially withdrawn from MotoGP since 2009, Akashi’s firm is back – finally! – in the foreground in world competition via the World Superbike. As a reminder, Kawa ‘last double in WSBK dates back to 2000 (Hitoyasu Izutsu to Sugo) !

Deprived of the title last year by Max Biaggi and his additional half point (!), Tom Sykes, alias the English Ninja, is dangerously close to the first place in the championship occupied by Sylvain Guintoli! For the moment, four small points separate the two men – very strong in this first third of the 2013 championship….

Be careful, however, because the classification is doubly provisional: besides the fact that the season is far from over (still 10 events, 20 races, 500 points and an infinity of scenarios, yay!), Tom Sykes and Sylvain Guintoli are still awaiting the judgment. of the International Disciplinary Court of the FIM on the "Monza affair"…

Indeed, in the event that the senior federal authorities (re-) reversed their decision not to penalize Tom for his "questionable maneuver"at Monza, Sylvain would be credited with 3rd place in the second Italian round, and three additional points.

While waiting for the final decision, the Frenchie’s counter shows 173 points, against 169 therefore for his enemy n ° 66 … Given the unbearable pace of the latter throughout the weekend, the results of the Anglo-Drômois are neither disappointing nor catastrophic.

First Aprilia rider at the end of the two heats, our favorite n ° 50 was only beaten during the first race by a hot Marco Melandri. Note that before his "little double" on Sunday, Sylvain had never been on the podium, at his home in Donington … Well done, Guinters !

Who’s the (Aprilia) Boss ?

Like his teammate, Eugene Laverty had never shone in the past on the Donington Park circuit. Fifth in the Supersport race in 2009, the Irish rider even collected poor results in the Superbike category: two white results, a 14th and 15th place….

Of course, Laverty would have liked to have a fight with Boss Sykes, far ahead of the others. But instead, "Yudjine" had to fight hard to limit damage in the first heat. After the disappointment of his seventh place, he managed to ward off Donington’s fate, and climb to the third step of the podium at the end of the afternoon, pushing Melandri to the fault !

Eugene Laverty will admit it once the pressure has subsided: it is already good to finish a weekend on a podium. Winner of three races at the start of the season, as many as Sykes and two more than Guintoli (!), This third place allows him above all to stay in contact with the two leading men.

The n ° 58 of the official Aprilia team is only 24 points behind our n ° 50 and 20 behind the n ° 66 of the Greens. Conversely, he has a 22-point lead over the semi-official BMW team n ° 33, Marco Melandri, who should certainly not be excluded from the title race. !

It is moreover on this English circuit that the Italian pilot had started a prolific summer tour in 2012! Unlocking – finally! – the S1000RR’s victory counter during the first European round, Marco had again landed the timpani (25 points) five times in the following six events.

It may in fact be that Melandri has already started his comeback: after the invincible Sykes, the Ravenna Hedgehog is the best "scorer" in the Superbike division since his victory – his first of the season – at Monza he a month ago…

The next event will take place in two weeks in Portimao. Scheduled at the end of the season last year, it had not brought luck to Marco: he left Portugal with two bubbles. And if the date change was profitable for him ?!

Next stop, Portimao !

Two pilots would no doubt have preferred that the halt on the superb but very demanding route of Portimao not be brought forward in June: Haslam and Checa, who must heal their ailments, in the leg for the Englishman, in the shoulder for spanish…

Yet known, respected and appreciated for his ability to endure pain (read our, in particular), Leon was excluded from the races by his team and the medical staff at the end of the warm-up on Sunday morning. It is therefore death in the soul that the "Pocket Rocket" watched her comrades have fun on the track !

"The surgeon who operated on me told me that the best thing for me would be to spend a few days on a nice beach", declared last night the n ° 91 of the Honda Pata team,"so I’m going to take an early flight to Portimao and continue the physio work there".

His teammate, Jonathan Rea, relies on the Ten Kate team to check the sensors, chips, connections and electronic circuits of his Fireblade one by one so that it does not rob him of another podium, as she clearly did. yesterday in the first round, and surely – to see him hit his tank! – also in the second round.

During the second race, the traction control of the CBR1000RR excessively restrained the power of the 4-cylinder "Made in Tokyo", the fault of a faulty sensor "made in …"? Johnny has something to complain about: he knows perfectly well, having replaced Stoner last year in MotoGP, that Honda masters this type of piloting assistance to perfection. So what ?!

For his part, Carlos Checa could not seriously defend his chances in the first round because of his edema in his left shoulder. The pain was so bad that the No.7 withdrew from the afternoon race, leaving Badovini, Canepa and Neukirchner to fight for the "title" of best and least bad Ducati rider….

The conclusion is clear, whether one bases oneself on the results of Donington Park or on those of the whole of the first third of the 2013 season: the Panigale 1199R is not at the level! Canepa (wild card on this event) may say that with a little training he could improve his eighth place in the second round, we can hardly see him beating the champion Carlos or even the fiery Badovini on a regular basis..

Although, in the provisional, the two pilots of the prestigious Alstare team are behind the private Ducati of Max Neukirchner. The German and his two Top 10 points to 12th place overall (45 pts), just ahead of Ayrton Badovini (37) and Carlos Checa (33). Shouldn’t the FIM let go a bit when admitting the Panigale? ?

Finally, at Suzuki, we are starting to see the end of the tunnel! Qualified Saturday in the middle of second place on the starting grid, Leon Camier however disappointed Sunday greatly. The Yellows’ podium dreams turned into a nightmare extremely quickly, when "Kamir" found himself 15th after the first lap following a straight beast….

The n ° 2 of the Suzuki Fixi Crescent team then confused speed and precipitation, finishing his first race in the gravel and forcing his mechanics to work during the Supersport race to put his "Gex" back on its feet. Unfortunately, Leon went off the track again in the second run !

His fall in the grass this time did not prevent him from returning to the track and completing the 23 laps. He scored three small points, just to save the honor … Once again, it was rookie (yes, beginner) Jules Cluzel who made the headlines at Suz ‘, by winning a sixth Top 10 in ten races.

Our "Coq Supersportif" even exceeds his team-mate in the general classification and reaches 10th place with a total of 55 points. Nice job, Mister "Cloudzel"! The next distribution of points for the Superbike is scheduled for Sunday June 9 in Portugal … Stay tuned !

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