Melandri does the double in Malaysia

Marco Melandri claimed a double victory for Aprilia in round six of the 2014 world superbike title at Sepang in Malaysia on June 8.

Both races were titanic battles between Melandri and his teammate Sylvain Guintoli, with the Italian getting the job done on both occasions – the second clean sweep of his WSBK career after Brno two years ago on a BMW. Eugene Laverty (Suzuki) and championship leader Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) were third in the two races.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Bryan Staring made his race debut for Kawasaki Grillini, claiming an encouraging 13th and 16th on his EVO-spec bike – and still not fully fit after a recent mountain bike spill.

“We really needed this double,” said Melandri. “We never gave up despite the difficulties we went through, we kept working hard and fighting. I found a good feeling here astride my RSV4.

“Conditions were difficult in race one, but I managed to close the gap to Sylvain anyway. After overtaking him I was able to pull away just enough to win. Race two was even harder, as I had to make my way through the Kawasakis and then try and catch my teammate.

“During the last lap I tried everything I could to the finish line. A lot of respect should be paid to all riders for today’s races, because it was really tough to ride in these conditions. I would like to dedicate this double to my girlfriend Manu who is due to give birth soon and to the team.”

Race one was incident-packed from the start as Loris Baz tangled with his teammate Tom Sykes, both riders falling and taking with them Alex Lowes (Suzuki).

Behind Melandri and Guintoli, a three-way fight raged with Laverty claiming the final podium spot ahead of Chaz Davies (Ducati), Toni Elias (Aprilia) and Jonathan Rea (Honda).

Sykes made amends in race two to take the final spot on the podium, despite a painful wrist. The Brit still leads the standings after the sixth round, while Guintoli now lies second in the title race, only 13 points behind the reigning champion.

Race two was initially red flagged after the MV Agusta of Claudio Corti expired resulting in a small fire that needed to be extinguished by marshals.

With only three full laps completed the grid for the restart was determined by the positions at the end of the third revolution, meaning Guintoli was on pole ahead of Elias and Melandri. The restart, over 10 laps, did not disappoint, with the leading five riders locked together until the two factory Aprilia riders eased clear.

Melandri and Guintoli exchanged places several times on the final lap, while Elias edged Baz for fourth, with Rea sixth.

In world supersport, Michael van der Mark (Honda) won the 14-lapper and extended his lead in the championship. He finished ahead of Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki).

WORLD SUPERBIKE AND SUPERSPORT RERSULTS AND STANDINGS