@WorldSBK • @SepangCircuit • @chazdavies • @DucatiMotor • Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) has won the second WorldSBK race of the 2015 Pirelli Malaysian Round after a spectacular last-lap battle with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), which saw the two riders separated by 0.091s at the line. This fraction of a second did not allow the series leader to clinch the title on Sunday at the Sepang International Circuit.
Unlike in Race 1, it was Welshman Davies who attempted pull to away from the rest of the field, with champion elect Rea giving chase. The factory Ducati rider managed to keep a fast pace until the last two laps, when series leader Rea began his final charge to the top; after losing the lead in the last sector, Davies hit the brakes as late as he could at the final left-hander to get the better of his rival as the two touched mid-turn.
Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) made the right changes to his RSV4 RF machine between the day’s two races, the Spanish WorldSBK rookie able to lap consistently in the 2.06s bracket for the duration of Race 2 to claim his second podium finish of the season.
Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike) scored another fourth position to complete his best weekend of the season so far ahead of team-mate Michael van der Mark, who made up for his Race 1 retirement with a fine fifth as he edged Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) by a tenth of a second.
David Salom (Team Pedercini), Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing) and Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven) were seventh to tenth respectively, with Niccolò Canepa (Althea Racing), Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing) completing the points positions.
Following his return to the podium in Race 1, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) found himself on the receiving end of a collision also involving the still-reigning WorldSBK Champion Guintoli as well as the aforementioned Sykes and Lowes. Unlike Biaggi, Englishman Sykes did not fall off his bike, although he lost several positions.
Having dropped to 17th place by the end of Lap 1, the former title winner began a recovery ride but crashed at Turn 9 five laps later; he remounted his ZX-10R, eventually claiming 14th place.
WorldSBK Sepang – Race 1
1 – Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team
2 – Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team +0.091
3 – Jordi Torres Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils +5.008
Standings (10 of 13 rounds completed)
1 – Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team 452
2 – Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SuperbikeTeam 308 (-144)
3 – Tom SykesKawasaki Racing Team 295 (-157)
From: Press Office- World Sperbike
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