WSBK: Sykes at the double
The world champion was back to his absolute best on the Kawasaki as he racked up two victories, both times ahead of French teammate Loris BazThe second round of the 2014 eni Superbike World Championship at MotorLand Aragon in Spain on April 13 was a Kawasaki benefit, with Tom Sykes and his French teammate Loris Baz claiming the quinella in both races, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) and Marco Melandri (Aprilia) the two third place finishes.
Sykes is now on top of the standings on 75pts, from Baz (71), Sylvain Guintoli (64), Melandri (49) and Rea (48).
“We scored two race wins today but after four or five laps of race two it felt far from perfect!” said Sykes. “Race one was very good and we had a good setup that gave us a consistent pace on a cold track. I thought race two was going to be more straightforward in hot conditions so I went for the same SC0 (tyre) as race one.
“The two guys behind me for sure had more grip than me but we were for sure able to put the Ninja ZX-10R on the pieces of tarmac those guys were looking for. I had a plan on the last lap to keep them behind me - and it worked.”
In race one, Sykes was the master, leading from start to finish as he finished over four seconds ahead of Baz, with Rea completing the podium – his first since Silverstone in 2013.
Davide Giugliano (Ducati) crashed on the final lap while in second place, but the Italian was able to rejoin, eventually crossing the line in eighth place.
Chaz Davies (Ducati) was fourth ahead of Eugene Laverty (Suzuki), Guintoli and Toni Elias (Aprilia).
Twelfth place Leon Camier (BMW) was the leading EVO rider -- the Briton filling in for the injured Sylvain Barrier -- just ahead of local rider David Salom (Kawasaki).
Race two was a carbon copy of the opener, with Sykes and Baz dominating in the Spanish sun – until Melandri made a late charge to put himself in the hunt for victory.
In a spectacular final three laps the three riders exchanged places a number of times with the defining moment coming at the final hairpin went Melandri went wide, allowing Sykes and Baz to slip through.
Guintoli was fourth, with Rea and Laverty completing the top six. Salom took EVO honours from Camier.
Meanwhile, a typically close world supersport race saw Kenan Sofuoglu produce his first win of the season aboard his Kawasaki. Second was Michael van der Mark (Honda) from Florian Marino (Kawasaki).
The next round of the Superbike World Championship will take place at Assen from April 25-27.
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