WSBK Great Britain (1): Sykes masters the first round
Unlike Davies and Rea who gave him a rough ride at the start of the race, Sykes didn’t make any mistakes this afternoon at Donington Park. This earned him a magnificent victory against Giugliano. Rea saves third place as Davies messes up… twice !
Unlike Davies and Rea who gave him a rough ride at the start of the race, Sykes didn’t make any mistakes this afternoon at Donington Park. This earned him a magnificent victory against Giugliano. Rea saves a third place as Davies messed up … twice !
First Superbike race Donington Park 2016
Jonathan Rea started very strong from the second row but it was Chaz Davies who took the lead in Redgate ahead of Tom Sykes. Davide Giugliano beat Rea a little in the first corner and took third place. Lorenzo Savadori completes the Top 5 ahead of Jordi Torres, Leon Camier, Nicky Hayden, Karel Abraham and Michael van den Mark.
Sykes is slightly lost when braking the last hairpin and lets Giugliano pass! The two official Ducatis therefore lead in front of the two factory Kawasaki. Savadori is a few lengths away and the peloton is already dropped. Proof that the last Goddards turn is tricky: it prevents Cameron Beaubier – Sylvain Guintoli’s replacement – from completing his first WorldSBK lap…
In the 2nd round, Rea hoists his Ninja in front of his teammate’s and sets off on a Panigale hunt! The Poleman struggles to keep pace and is a good second behind Davies. In the next loop, Rea widens on two heavy braking of the last section of the circuit. It cannot stay in the asphalt of Ducati n ° 34, but is not overtaken by Kawa n ° 66.
The Ducati n ° 7, it seems to be able to escape on the 4th lap, but its pursuers react quickly and manage to stay in its wake. Still third, Jonathan is the first to go below the 1 ’28 mark on the track and joins Davide. Tom is curiously not in the game.
At the very end of the 5th lap, "Chazie" loses the lead in Goddards, that damn last overhanging pin … His teammate Giugliano therefore inherits the lead, but he is followed by Rea and chased by Sykes. Savadori is 5 seconds behind the leader, Camier 6 seconds.
In the background, a superb fight for 6th place opposes Jordi Torres and Nicky Hayden. Van den Mark is unfortunately too far to spice up the action further … Karel Abraham on his BMW Milwaukee and De Angelis on his Aprilia IodaRacing complete the Top 10.
At the end of the 7th lap, Jonathan Rea traces straight into Goddards … This is not the first time this weekend that the "Number One" is trapped by this bend … or rather, that he is betrayed by his Kawasaki! Whether it’s a problem – mechanical – gearbox, or a problem – electronics – shifter, # team65 will have to solve it tonight !
"Johnny" therefore bites into the grass and joins the track in fourth position, just behind Savadori. The northern Irishman however made short work of the Italian in the following lap and found himself on the podium! Davies him, point in twelfth position.
On the 10th lap, Giugliano has a short half-second lead over Sykes, more than 5 seconds over Rea. The rookie Savadori is in a satisfactory fourth place, seven seconds behind his compatriot, but he should be wary of Hayden, Torres and Camier who follow a little more than two seconds…
In this group fighting for fifth place, Leon overtakes Jordi at the end of the 11th lap. The MV Agusta rider lodged in the wheel of Honda n ° 69 and had to find an opening, while protecting himself from the BMW n ° 81 which was in his aspiration! Not easy.
Chaz Davies is also in the middle of a fight. The Welshman won on the first braking of the 13th lap and confused De Angelis and West. The San Marino loses the front of his Aprilia and almost mows the Australian who barely manages to straighten his Kawasaki, towards the green grass – but not too slippery – of Redgate.
"Chazie" more properly overtakes Karel Abraham at the start of the 15th lap but falls again a U-lap later. This time, he loses the front on the left side, at the top of the Coppice curve … The n ° 7 is forced to retire and is about to lose big points in the championship.
A few moments later, Rea sets off again straight into the last corner of the English circuit. Something is definitely wrong on his Kawasaki n ° 1 … It makes you wonder if he will be able to finish the race on the podium. Or even finish the race on two-wheelers !
Far ahead, Tom Sykes launched a first attack on the 15th braking in Melbourne Hairpin, but he could not reach the rope. Giugliano therefore takes the reins of the race … for only one lap, because Sykes tries his luck in the same place and manages to keep the advantage. "Super Sykes" walks away slowly, but surely…
Eight seconds behind Sykes, Rea has to settle for the third step of the podium and the corresponding 16 points. The brilliant 2015 STK1000 champion, Lorenzo Savadori, cedes his fourth place to Nicky Hayden still followed by Leon Camier…
The 2009 British Superbike champion overtook the 2006 MotoGP champion two laps before the end, in the superb sequence of Craner and Old Hairpin curves. At the end of this 22nd loop, Savadori throws himself between the two pilots under braking from Melbourne but goes completely off course.
In doing so, the driver n ° 32 Aprilia draws a definitive line on the fourth place finally obtained by an admirable Leon Camier. After his victory in the "Wet" at Sepang, Nicky Hayden scores a remarkable "Top Five" in the dry at Donington Park.
Fourteen seconds before them, Tom Sykes clinched his seventh consecutive victory at Donington Park. The Ninja n ° 66 will race tomorrow after a fourth double in a row at home! Davide Giugliano will try for his first WSBK victory…
Widely beaten by Sykes in the Superpole, Davies and Rea have proven that they have the tempo to beat him in the race. Despite its technical glitches, the "Number One" has also secured a 13th podium in 13 races this season. The n ° 7 on the other hand lost big with his two falls…
The mid-season milestone has just been crossed as Rea is 58 points ahead of Davies, 61 more than Sykes. Giugliano steals from Van den Mark his fourth place while Hayden consolidates his sixth place against Torres. Next points distribution in 24 hours: stay tuned !
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