WorldSBK: another Davies double

Welshman Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) scored his fourth world superbike double of the season at Jerez in Spain on October 15-16, while Kawasaki Racing Team duo Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes shared second and third places.

The Davies domination also prevented Rea from sealing another WorldSBK title victory with the North Irishman to continue his charge in Qatar in two weeks.

“To win four races in a row is just unreal. Lately I’ve been very confident and able to push 100 per cent every lap, just dancing on the bike," said Davies. "Also, I managed to get the best start of the year and entered turn one just behind Sykes. I think he was trying to save his tyres, so I took the opportunity because I knew we could run our pace for the whole race.

"Today, the key was to manage the grip. I was a little mindful at the start, because the hotter conditions made the track more slippery, but in the end I could see the gap building and then it was just a case of bringing it home. Without getting overconfident, we’ll try to make it sixth in a row to get second position in the championship.”

Rea now leads the championship on 462pts ahead of Sykes (414) and Davies (395).

Meanwhile, Nicky Hayden (Honda) was fourth in both races, while Josh Brookes (Milwaukee BMW) left Jerez with 10-12 finishes and Anthony West (Pedercini Kawasaki) crashed in the opener before an excellent ninth in race two.

In world supersport, Turkish hero Kenan Sofuoglu was crowned the 2016 world champion after his Kawasaki Puccetti Racing teammate Randy Krummenacher crashed out of contention for the title. Thirty-two-year-old Sofuoglu is the only rider in history to win the WorldSSP title five times, coming in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 and now 2016.

Sofuoglu said: “I am so proud to have won my fifth championship and I have to say a special thanks to Kawasaki. Some years ago they gave me a good package and good support and since that time I have enjoyed racing a lot more. Then I found the Puccetti Racing team two years ago and this is my second title with them in succession. To do that is incredible and we have won many races.

"At the beginning of this year I did not know what would happen but we won the championship one race early. Racing is not difficult but fighting for championships is difficult. Today, when I saw that Randy had crashed I thought that because I was already champion, I could go on to try and win the race. It was my dream to do that at Magny-Cours but I achieved it here. Luck was with me today and together with our good potential and good performance, we won the title again.”

Sofuoglu had to fight hard for the victory as Kallio Racing Team’s Niki Tuuli (Yamaha) and CIA Landlord Insurance Honda’s Kyle Smith tried everything they could to beat the Kawasaki rider at his own game. But experience won out and the duo was unable to match his incredible pace. Tuuli finished second, Smith came home in third and Honda World Supersport Racing Team’s PJ Jacobsen finished in fourth after catching the podium finishers in the final laps.

FULL RESULTS HERE