Sykes supreme at Donington -- again
His second consecutive clean sweep at the English circuit, as he takes back the lead in the 2014 world superbike title from Honda's Jonathan ReaA perfect weekend for reigning champion Tom Sykes saw him take the double at round five of the 2014 Superbike World Championship at Donington.
The Kawasaki factory rider has now moved back into the championship lead at the expense of Honda’s Jonathan Rea, with five of the 13 rounds completed. Sykes is on 185 points, from Rea (159), Loris Baz (Kawasaki, 159), Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia, 148) and Ducati’s Chaz Davies (109).
WORLD SUPERBIKE RESULTS AND STANDINGS
“Maybe race one was the best race of my career,” sad Sykes. “We had a problem on the first laps of race one and Loris came quite aggressively in turn one. I lost some positions and in the first half a lap, on full lean angle the bike was cutting the power. I almost came into the pits but the Ninja cleared itself and after that the bike was working very well.
“In race two I knew Loris would have a good pace and Sylvain always goes well round Donington. I just kept pushing and took the lead and then the win. It is great to take another double and also take the championship lead again.”
Baz finished second in both Donington races, from Alex Lowes (Suzuki) in the opener and Guintoli in the second. Meanwhile, Australia’s Bryan Staring (Kawasaki) brave attempt to compete with an injured elbow lasted until the first practice session, and he’ll now concentrate on being fully fit for round six in Sepang, Malaysia, on June 8.
In race one, Sykes clawed his way back from a slow start to claim his 17th career victory, the third so far this year, ahead of Baz, Lowes, Marco Melandri (Aprilia), Davies and Rea. Eugene Laverty (Suzuki) and Davide Giugliano (Ducati) crashed out of contention early on, without injury.
Race two saw a three-way fight between Guintoli, Sykes and Baz, with Sykes eventually pulling away in the final laps. Giugliano was fourth from Davies and Rea. Laverty crashed again, but was able to remount and salvage three points.
David Salom (Kawasaki) was the highest classified EVO rider in both races, although Bimota’s Ayrton Badovini finished ahead of him – the team still unable to officially accrue points until it meets homologation requirements.
In world supersport, a thrilling 20-lap race saw Michael van der Mark (Honda) take his second win of the season after a tense final three corners saw him fend off Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta). Kev Coghlan (Yamaha) claimed the final place on the rostrum after being in the leading fight until the closing stages. Former World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) suffered another technical problem while leading but unlike in recent races the Turk was able to bring his machine home in fourth.
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