WSBK – Statements and Analysis of the Superbike at Donington Park – Analysis of the World Superbike at Donington Park

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Superbike statements and analysis at Donington Park

WSBK - Statements and Analysis of the Superbike at Donington Park - Analysis of the World Superbike at Donington Park

The fifth round of the 2014 World SBK took place yesterday in Donington Park, Great Britain. To complete our live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders as well as the website analysis of the two British races.

Analysis of the World Superbike at Donington Park

As in Imola two weeks ago, Tom Sykes arrived this weekend at Donington Park in conquered ground: the "Number One" had achieved on these two circuits … But between the uncertain English weather and the bitter memory of his Italian disappointment, the Kawasaki rider did not ride mechanical…

Dispossessed of the championship lead by the brilliant Jonathan Rea, Tom Sykes was under pressure on Sunday noon by starting from his seventh place on the grid, obtained in a. Although fast in the dry (best time in FP3) as in the wet (best time in the morning warm-up), the English Ninja had no room for error..

Certainly confident about his pace in the race, "Major Tom" was extremely careful during his two starts in the middle of the WSBK pack. Conversely, Loris Baz did everything to climb to the forefront as soon as the lights went out … even if it meant jostling his leader !

Having started from afar, on the reserve and initially slowed down by an "electronic bug" which prevented him from going around as soon as the rope point was crossed, Sykes had to spit in the gloves to get back on his teammate "Bazooka" , gone like a cannonball…

The two Ninjas fought a fierce fight at the end of the first round, and unlike disputed at the very beginning of the season when Loris had withheld some of his shots for fear of committing a blunder, the n ° 76 gave up everything this time. !

Also, Tom Sykes recognized at the end of this superb race that it was one, if not the most beautiful of his whole career. A big compliment for our national Baz – which, let us remember, is only 21 years old! – from a world champion who fought against Checa, Biaggi, Laverty, Guintoli and other great motorcycle riders at the top of their form and has just joined the Top 10 of the best WSBK riders (18 victories ).

More serene in the second round because better off and well helped by the ball of Alex Lowes (we will come back to this …), Tom Sykes signed in front of his subjects his fourth victory of the year, his second double in 2014 and the second also at Donington Park. The King who we began to believe vulnerable recovers his throne in a very beautiful way !

Twice second Sunday, Loris Baz found his "" second place in the. The "Green Giant" totals the same number of points (159) as Jonathan Rea, who also scored twice but less prodigiously: two sixth places.

We expected much better from Johnny who landed on his land – or almost: originally from Northern Ireland, Rea lives in the Isle of Man – having successively and sumptuously won the World Superbike…

At Honda Pata, the lack of dry running on Saturday and the lack of grip for the races on Sunday are cited in an attempt to explain the poor performance of the two Fireblades. "We have work to do if we want to counterattack in Sepang", foresees the technical coordinator of the team, Pieter Breddels.

Handicapped in recent years by repeated injuries, Leon Haslam was nevertheless happy with his second place on the grid obtained in Superpole and his times in the race: "they are not very far from those I realized two or three years ago", reports the .

In two weeks, the "Pocket Rocket" will have no more points of comparison, since the world championship – whole! – will travel to Malaysia, on the international circuit of Sepang, where the Superbikes have never put their wheels down…

Known to be delicate to adjust and more sensitive than cutting-edge machines to the slightest changes in the environment (circuits, temperatures, tires, etc.), will the Honda succeed in returning to the forefront? Hard to say.

If it rains heavily during the races, like at the start of this month in, then the CBR1000RR SPs might have some great cards to play. On the other hand, if the monsoons hit them during all the tests and stop right on race Sunday, then the traction problems could again hamper Jonathan and Leon…

While the World Superbike had two events on English soil in – and up to three in, including a "European" event (sic) -, it only staged once this year on the other side of the Handle.

Thus, Tom Sykes was not the only "English champion" to feel the pressure this weekend: the rookie Alex Lowes, titled last year in British Superbike (BSB), also wanted to make sparks in front of his family. and make a lasting impression…

In the first round, the twin of Sam – the 2013 Supersport world champion who rides this year in, sacred brothers! – did not disappoint, completing the first two laps in the lead and only cracking under the attacks of the two "froggies" Baz and Guintoli.

At the end of a studious race, Alex took his second podium of the year, his first in the dry. The No. 22 of the Suzuki Voltcom Crescent team took the opportunity to fill his confidence gauge before the second round … He even made it slightly overflow, to the chagrin of Marco Melandri !

Author of the best time of the second round in his fourth lap – faster than the Kawa boys, therefore! -, Lowes missed the next loop under Melbourne braking and couldn’t avoid the rear wheel of the official Aprilia # 33.

The two pilots were however able to set off again, like Eugene Laverty who fell "all alone, like a grown-up" in the next turn! "The second round did not go as planned", remarked Paul Denning on his Twitter account last night.

"Two pilots, two falls, but two great climbs. At least our good old motorcycle knows how to fall…", concluded the big boss of the team based in the East Midlands – very close to the circuit -, again amazed by the determination of his young colt…

Set off again on a motorcycle "that a pilot would have declared impossible to fly under other circumstances"(!), Alex continued to put on the show in front of his audience during a second race, which was otherwise a little too calm…

The fans of Eugene Laverty, in particular, had something to be disappointed with since their Irish No.58 was clearly not having a good day … nor a good weekend! "Youdjine" will have no trouble turning the page: before Malaysia, rider Suz ‘has an appointment in Japan to try out the MotoGP prototype. "Yummie" !

Leon Camier’s supporters could have demanded the reimbursement of their place: the English driver was deprived of the race because of a nasty injury to the arm which, he hopes, will not prevent him from driving at Sepang…

As a reminder, Sylvain Barrier’s replacement was trapped at the very beginning of the: "I didn’t think I was going so fast but I managed to blow the bike up, sums up the n ° 2 of the BMW Italia team, before revealing that he had also opened at the level of the biceps. "Torn 5 cm to two-thirds of its depth", specifies Leon:"a little more, and my career was in question". Brrr !

The spectators who came to cheer on Chaz Davies, on the other hand, got their money’s worth: the Welshman clinched two fifth places, which represents a solid performance … especially compared to those of the Ducati riders (last of the second round) !

Always a little more measured than his teammate Davide Giugliano, the – new – n ° 7 from Bologna continues his harvest of good results on the 1199 Panigale and consolidates his fifth position in the championship ahead of his former teammate at BMW, Marco Melandri himself !

"Fanculo ai periodi di merda !", dropped the famous n ° 33 of Ravenna on Twitter, at the end of an English weekend like the start of the season: very disappointing and irritating, we will have understood without even having done" italian first language "in college…

A driver as good as he is irregular, Marco has not been on the podium since. Even more frustrating for him: he hasn’t won a race since the race, while fighting for the title.

This year, Melandri’s chances of being crowned are already almost zero: the Italian’s counter shows almost half as many points as that of Sykes … The next meeting at Sepang thus presents itself as the most important of the season !

Former MotoGP star (he made 13 tours with the Intercontinental Circus troop!), Marco has undoubtedly completed more laps on the Malaysian circuit than all his competitors put together. The Aprilia rider will try to use this advantage to return to the fore in the race … and in the championship ?

Excluded from the general classification – as long as their BB3 is not duly approved – Ayrton Badovini and Chris Iddon finally deserve the congratulations of the MNC jury for the two races they did on Sunday at Donington Park.

The two drivers of the Bimota Alstare team deserve that their manufacturer reaches as quickly as possible the quotas required by the FIM so that their names appear in their place on the results sheets, and not in the last column "Subject to homologation", still different from that of "Unclassified"…

In the meantime, David Salom recovers the laurels of the Evo category by finishing second behind Badovini first ahead of Niccolo Canepa in the two British races. The official Kawasaki team, to which the Spanish rider belongs in the same way as Sykes and Baz, is thus full of success: up to the Greens !

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