MISANO, Italy – Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) grew his career total of WSB wins to 20 on Sunday after taking two clear victories in the 21-lap eni FIM Superbike World Championship races at Misano. Each time he headed up his own team-mate Loris Baz on a great day for the official Kawasaki riders.
For Sykes his fifth and sixth wins of the year came as a result of his third double win, following his successes at Motorland Aragon and Donington Park. His latest wins came despite painful hand, wrist and leg injuries he carried over from the previous round. Sykes left Misano with a Superpole win and new lap record, set in race one, of 1:35.629.
An extended championship lead of 39 points was Sykes’ final reward after a tough but truly rewarding weekend in Italy.
Only Baz put up a serious challenge to Sykes this weekend and in taking two second places he drew himself to within two points of second place in the championship standings as the championship now enters the second half at the next round in Portugal.
“I am very pleasantly surprised at these results but I knew that the adrenaline and the concentration would give me something extra,” Sykes said. “I honestly was not expecting to get that much extra but massive credit to all the team. It all went to plan in race one.
“I knew I had some limitation all weekend and I said that to my crew chief, and what the issues were. After that you need to get on and do the job. We have been working a lot all weekend and we have been fine-tuning the set-up of the Ninja ZX-10R. Finally when it came to crunch time I was able to give that final little bit myself, and I am happy about that.
The lap times were quite surprising at the start and I was surprised to keep that pace in race one. The front and rear were moving a lot but the feedback from the bike was fantastic. In race two it was even more difficult, the bike was moving a lot more and I was over compensating with my left arm. I had to stay focused but at the end the control of the second race was probably a bit more relaxed than in race one.”
After 21 fast and furious laps, Sykes won the opening race of the day at the Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli after starting from pole position courtesy of his record breaking lap on Saturday. Baz and Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) took the remaining podium positions by finishing second and third, respectively.
From the start however it was Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) that took the holeshot before reigning champion Sykes forced his way past towards the end of the opening lap.
Both factory Aprilia riders made small mistakes before regrouping allowing Baz through to give chase to his Kawasaki team mate.
Elias overshot at the start of lap three into turn one while the battle at the front was intensifying.
As the race progressed the battle at the front was fast becoming a two-rider affair with the fight for the final podium place now involving both Ducati riders as well as the two factory Aprilia machines, Elias and the Pata Honda of Jonathan Rea.
As the race entered the final third Sykes was pulling away from Baz by two tenths of second leaving the Frenchman a lonely second. The final podium fight was now between Melandri and Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team) with Melandri eventually grabbing third at the flag.
Davies, Sylvain Guintoli and Elias completed the top six.
David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team) came out on top in the EVO battle after working his way through the pack after being caught mid pack in the opening sequence of corners, eventually finishing a respectable 11th overall.
Alessandro Andreozzi (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) and Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) crashed out unhurt. Frenchman Fabien Foret (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki – EVO) retired on lap 10, after starting the race from the pit-lane due to a technical infringement found on his ZX-10R.
After winning the opening race of the day reigning champion Sykes was victorious again in race two, putting in a commanding performance aboard his Kawasaki Racing Team machine.
Behind Sykes there was an intense race long three-rider fight for the final places on the podium with Baz eventually grabbing second ahead of Melandri after some hard but fair overtakes between the pair, Guintoli having to be content with fourth.
An equally exciting scrap behind the top four saw Rea emerge fifth ahead of Elias, Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) and Lowes, who was eighth.
Race 2 was over before it had begun for Giugliano. The Italian took the lead into turn one but was judged to have moved before the lights went out and was given a jump start penalty. He would eventually finish ninth after serving a ride through the pits for his mistake. Ducati’s other rider, Davies crashed out of fifth on the fifth lap.
In the EVO battle the accolade of being the best classified finisher went once again to Salom despite a valiant race from Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia) on his return to racing.
Christian Iddon (Team Bimota Alstare) highsided out of contention early on but was thankfully able to limp away. Fellow Brit Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) crashed out of the fight for fifth. Unlike Iddon, Haslam did remount to finish 12th.
As expected following a close qualifying session, Sunday’s World Supersport race was action packed from start to finish with multiple position changes at the front throughout the 19-lap encounter.
Pole position setter Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) led from the start and immediately began stretching a lead of over the chasing group of riders that included Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki), Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team), Raffaele De Rosa (CIA Insurance Honda) and PJ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres).
With Cluzel almost two seconds clear De Rosa crashed out of contention on lap four, leaving Jacobsen, van der Mark and Sofuoglu to battle for the second and third places on the podium.
With five laps to go championship leader van der Mark had reduced the gap to Cluzel to under a second setting up another tense final few laps between the pair.
At the flag Cluzel took the victory, his second of the year by 1.5s from championship leader van der Mark with Jacobsen taking third and his maiden world championship podium.
Former champion Sofuoglu finished fourth with Roberto Tamburini (San Carlo Puccetti Racing) and Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) completing the top six.
Lorenzo Savadori (Team Pedercini) took the win, his first of 2014 in the fourth round of the FIM Superstock 1000cc Cup.
Starting from pole position the Italian rider eventually crossed the line to claim the victory after second place man Federico Sandi (Team Motoxracing) crashed on the 11th lap bringing out the red flag.
That elevated championship leader Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing) to second with Fabio Massei (EAB Racing Ducati) claiming back to back podiums in third.
EJC points leader Augusto Fernandez (WIL Sport) has come out victorious in Sunday’s 10-lap Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda race at Misano, taking his third win out of five races . The young Spaniard got the better of 16-year-old Italian wildcard and EJC debutant Matteo Ciprietti (Honda Italy) and compatriot Illan Fernandez (EVO Kids Racing), after a thrilling three-way battle up to the chequered flag.
Superbike Race One Results
1.Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 21 Laps/88.746km in 33:46.932 (157.620km/h)
2. Loris Baz (Kawasaki) +5.012
3. Marco Melandri (Aprilia) +6.417
4. Chaz Davies (Ducati) +7.783
5. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia) +16.248
6. Toni Elias (Aprilia) +17.399
7. Jonathan Rea (Honda) +21.162
8. Davide Giugliano (Ducati) +26.393
9. Eugene Laverty (Suzuki) +26.842
10. Leon Haslam (Honda) +40.600
11. David Salom (Kawasaki) +42.064
12. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) +46.804
13. Claudio Corti (MV Agusta) +48.909
14. Ivan Goi (Ducati) +50.429
15. Sylvain Barrier (BMW) +52.452
16. Jeremy Guarnoni (Kawasaki) +1:02.476
17. Riccardo Russo (Kawasaki) +1:11.815
18. Bryan Staring (Kawasaki) +1:23.649
19. Peter Sebestyen (BMW) +1 Lap
RT. Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki)
RT. Alex Lowes (Suzuki)
RT. Aaron Yates (EBR)
RT. Fabien Foret (Kawasaki)
RT. Matteo Baiocco (Ducati)
RT. Alessandro Andreozzi (Kawasaki)
RT. Geoff May (EBR)
Superbike Race Two Results
1.Tom Sykes (Kawaswaki)
2. Loris Baz (Kawasaki)
3. Marco Melandri (Aprilia)
4. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia)
5. Jonathan Rea (Honda)
6. Toni Elias (Aprilia)
7. Eugene Laverty (Suzuki)
8. Alex Lowes (Suzuki)
9. Davide Guigliano (Ducati)
10. David Salom (Kawasaki)
11. Sylvain Barrier (BMW)
12. Leon Haslam (Honda)
13. Ivan Goi (Ducati)
14. Riccardo Russo (Kawasaki)
15. Alessandro Andreozzi (Kawasaki)
16. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati)
17. Claudio Corti (MV Agusta)
18. Bryan Staring (Kawasaki)
19. Peter Sebestyen (BMW)
RT. Jeremy Guarnoni (Kawasaki)
RT. Geoff May (EBR)
RT. Chaz Davies (Ducati)
RT. Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki)
NS. Matteo Baiocco (Ducati)
NS. Fabien Foret (Kawasaki)
World Superbike Standings
- T. SYKES KAWASAKI 251
- S. GUINTOLI APRILIA 212
- L. BAZ KAWASAKI 210
- J. REA HONDA 199
- M. MELANDRI APRILIA 179
- C. DAVIES DUCATI 143
- D. GIUGLIANO DUCATI 111
- T. ELIAS APRILIA 109
- E. LAVERTY SUZUKI 106
- L. HASLAM HONDA 99
- A. LOWES SUZUKI 88
- D. SALOM KAWASAKI 67
- N. CANEPA DUCATI 43
- L. CAMIER BMW 30
- J. GUARNONI KAWASAKI 19
- L. SCASSA KAWASAKI 16
- F. FORET KAWASAKI 14
- C. CORTI MV AGUSTA 13
- S. MORAIS KAWASAKI 10
- A. ANDREOZZI KAWASAKI 9
- S. BARRIER BMW 6
- G. ALLERTON BMW 6
- K. BOS HONDA 5
- I. GOI DUCATI 5
- B. STARING KAWASAKI 3
- R. RUSSO KAWASAKI 2
- I. TOTH BMW 2
- M. FABRIZIO KAWASAKI 2
- R. LANUSSE KAWASAKI 1
–From Kawasaki Racing Team and wsbk.com
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