Sykes and Melandri take Misano WorldSBK victories

Factory riders Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) and Marco Melandri (Ducati) have taken the race wins in a wild WorldSBK round at Misano in Italy on the weekend of June 17-18.

FULL RESULTS AND STANDINGS HERE

A breathtaking race one on Saturday saw Sykes take advantage of three big crashes ahead of him to secure maximum points, with Alex Lowes (Yamaha) and championship leader Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) also on the podium.

In the final stages of the last lap Chaz Davies (Ducati) crashed out of the lead and was hit by Rea, with the latter able to pick up his bike to finish third. Moments before that incident Melandri also crashed out when fighting for a podium finish and he would ultimately finish 15th.

Michael van der Mark (Yamaha) also spectacularly crashed out at turn 13 with seven laps to go, with Rea close by, after the Dutchman had led for most of the race. Van der Mark took over at the front from provisional leader Rea in the early stages and had built up a big lead at one stage before his advantage decreased and then he went down.

Behind Sykes, Lowes and Rea, the top five also featured Jordi Torres (BMW) and Xavi Fores (Ducati).

In race two, Melandri took a stunning first win of 2017, with Rea and Sykes also on the podium.

Responding positively to his last lap crash in race one, Melandri came from 10th on the grid to return to winning ways with a one-second victory over Rea. It was Melandri’s first WorldSBK win since 2014 and the 100th victory for an Italian rider in the top class of the championship.

Starting from pole, Torres held the lead for eight laps before Melandri took over – but he was hugely frustrated to drop out of the race with a tyre problem with just three laps to go. He was in second place at the time.

The top five was completed by van der Mark and Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia).

Only 12 riders finished the race as the likes of Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Fores and Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) retiring with technical problems. Lowes went down at turn two and he was unable to finish the race.

After his crash in race one, Davies was unfit to race on Sunday.

Rea now leads the standings by 50pts (296 to 246) over Sykes after seven rounds, followed by Davies (185).

World supersport
World champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) who took a fourth consecutive victory, with the Turkish rider accompanied on the podium by Jules Cluzel (Honda) and Federico Caricasulo (Yamaha).

PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta) applied the pressure to Caricasulo for the last podium position over the finals laps but just could not catch the Yamaha man. Crossing the finish line behind American rider Jacobsen were two Britons, Kyle Smith (Honda) and Gino Rea (Kawasaki) in fifth and sixth respectively.

Aussie Anthony West (Yamaha) was 10th, while Lachlan Epis (Kawasaki) crashed out.