2014 WSBK – Donington Results

Mon, 26 May 2014

Tom Sykes and Loris Baz captured a pair of one-two finishes for Kawasaki at England’s Donington Park. The first race saw the reigning World Superbike champion fight his way up from 11th place for the win while Race 2 offered a three-way battle between the two Kawasaki riders and Aprilia‘s Sylvain Guintoli.

Race One

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Normally a strong starter, Sykes had a nearly disastrous beginning in Race One, while up front, Suzuki‘s Alex Lowes battled with Guintoli and Baz.

Guintoli gained the advantage on Lap 3 with Baz moving up to second behind him ahead of Lowes. Meanwhile, Sykes had worked his way back to tenth place behind Ducati’s Chaz Davies. Baz took over the lead on Lap 5 ahead of Lowes while Sykes continued to work his way to the front.

Sykes was ninth by Lap 5 but jumped ahead three spots on Lap 8, getting around Davies and the Honda duo of Leon Haslam and Jonathan Rea. Guintoli was Sykes’ next victim as he started to fade from his strong start. Sykes then moved his way past Marco Melandri to slot into fourth behind Lowes, Ducati’s Davide Giugliano and his teammate Baz.

Giugliano made a push to catch Baz on Lap 16 but crashed on Turn 9, knocking him out of the race. Sykes then made quick work of Lowes to take second and moved past his teammate for the lead on Lap 20, holding on to complete the remarkable comeback.

2014 WSBK Donington Race One Top Five Results Pos. Rider Motorcycle Time 1 Tom Sykes Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R - 2 Loris Baz Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R +1.538 3 Alex Lowes Suzuki GSX-R1000 +6.394 4 Marco Melandri Aprilia RSV4 Factory +11.875 5 Chaz Davies Ducati 1199 Panigale R +14.514 Race Two

Guintoli recovered from his Race One troubles for a strong start in Race Two, leading for the first 10 laps. His teammate Melandri was second for the first three laps but came in contact with Lowes on Lap 4, sending him crashing.

That moved Baz into second with Sykes in third. The three lead riders stayed in that order for several laps, but again the two Kawasakis were too much for Guintoli. Sykes gained the lead on Lap 11 and held on for his fourth win of the season and second double-victory.

2014 WSBK Donington Race Two Top Five Results Pos. Rider Motorcycle Time 1 Tom Sykes Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R - 2 Loris Baz Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R +3.678 3 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia RSV4 Factory +7.376 4 Davide Giugliano Ducati 1199 Panigale R +10.827 5 Chaz Davies Ducati 1199 Panigale R +15.140 After Five Rounds

Sykes takes over the championship lead with 185 points while Rea and Baz sit tied for second at 159 points. Guintoli drops back to fourth thanks to his disappointing finish to Race One but he remains in the championship picture.

The 2014 WSBK Championship continues June 8 at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit.

2014 WSBK Top Five Standings after Five Rounds Pos. Rider Team Points 1 Tom Sykes Kawasaki 185 2 Jonathan Rea Pata Honda 159 3 Loris Baz Kawasaki 159 4 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia 148 5 Chaz Davies Ducati 109

[Source: WSBK; photos by respective race teams]

By Dennis Chung