eni FIM Superbike World Championship in Jerez
Monday 21 October: Round 14 at Circuito de Jerez in Spain.
Superbikes: Laverty wins Race 1 as Sykes clinches the title
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) is
the new eni FIM Superbike World Champion. The 28 year old from
Huddersfield, England, rode a smart race and crossed the line in third
place, a result that allowed him to clinch his first-ever World Title,
in his fifth year of racing in the series. Sykes also brings the title
back to Kawasaki after 20 long years - the last one dated back to 1993
and was won by Scott Russell.
Today's first race was won by
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) after a superb final lap overtake
on Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrrad GoldBet), on the outside, at the last
turn. The two riders pulled away in the early laps, with Laverty leader
for most of race until the penultimate tour, when the Italian passed the
Irishman at Turn 6.
Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing
Team) finished a lonely fourth, ahead of Toni Elias (Red Devils Aprilia)
and Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Aprilia), both unable to repeat on
the race distance the competitive lap-times set in free practice and
qualifying. The Top-10 for Race 1 was completed by Chaz Davies (BMW
Motorrad GoldBet), Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki), Xavi Fores (Team
Ducati Alstare) and Mark Aitchison (Team Pedercini Kawasaki).
Superbikes: Eugene Laverty gets double win in Sykes' dream day
The eni FIM Superbike World
Championship season drew to an end today after the last race of a
spectacular year, with many protagonists in the spotlight and, above
them all, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), who achieved an historical
milestone for both himself and the Japanese manufacturer. The British
rider grabbed his first-ever World Superbike title today and completed
an outstanding record of 8 Tissot-Superpole and 9 race wins with his
17th podium finish of the year, a second place in Race 2 behind Eugene
Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team).
The Irishman battled out with
Sykes throughout the first half of the race, eventually overtaking the
Brit at the of the thirteenth lap and pulling away, to claim his second
double-win of the season and the ninth race victory - same number of
wins as the new Champion. Other works Aprilia rider Sylvain Guintoli
(Aprilia Racing Team) completed again the podium by crossing the line a
lonely third, ahead of Toni Elias (Red Devils Aprilia), Chaz Davies (BMW
Motorrad GoldBet) and Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki).
Lorenzo Lanzi (Mesaroli A.S.
Ducati) finished his weekend on a positive note as he ended up 7th,
followed by Jules Cluzel (FIXI Crescent Suzuki), Mark Aitchison (Team
Pedercini Kawasaki) and Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Aprilia). Local
Xavi Forés (Team Ducati Alstare) crashed out of Turn 1 right after the
start of the race, due to a collision with another rider, while Marco
Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) did not line up on the grid due to the
injured ankle that bothered him also in the first race.
Pata European Junior Cup: Jake Lewis wins race and the title
Jake Lewis (Jake Lewis Racing) has won
the 2013 Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda after a thrilling
race, that saw the Kiwi rider take the best out of an 8-way battle up to
the finish line. Title contender Augusto Fernandez (DS Junior Team)
missed the final victory for only 0.036 seconds, while Josh Harland
(Easy Barber Racing) completed the podium in the final race of the year.
Supersport: Sam Lowes wins his last Supersport race
Sam Lowes (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha)
put the icing on the cake of his title-winning season by crossing the
line victorious after the 20-lap World Supersport final race of 2013.
The Englishman had his last, successful battle, with Kenan Sofuoglu
(Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki): the Turk did his best to keep the
lead after several overtaking manoeuvres, but Lowes managed to pass him
once more, with two laps to go, and pulled away for the win.
Roberto Rolfo (ParkinGO MV Agusta
Corse) had the better of Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World
Supersport) for third, whilst other Pata Honda rider Lorenzo Zanetti
ended up fifth with a 23-second gap from the winner. Riccardo Russo
(Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) edged Kev Coghlan (DMC-Lorenzini Kawasaki) to
finish in sixth place and Sheridan Morais (PTR Honda) did the same on
Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha) for eight position.
Superstock 1000: Guarnoni wins in great fashion
Jeremy Guarnoni has scored a dominant
win in the last race of the season for the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at
Jerez, the second in a row for the Frenchman after the one achieved on
home soil two weeks ago. The MRS Kawasaki rider pulled away in the early
laps to cross the line with a 4.3 seconds over Leandro Mercado (Team
Pedercini Kawasaki).
Romain Lanusse (MRS Kawasaki),
Alessandro Andreozzi (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) and Markus Reiterberger
(BMW Motorrad GoldBet) battled out for the remaining podium place, with
the young Frenchman to edge the two rivals at the chequered flag. Kevin
Calia (Barni Racing Ducati), at his second race in the series, managed
to finish sixth ahead of team mate and STK1000 regular Niccolò Canepa,
who secured the second place in the standings for just one point over
Guarnoni. Tough day for Lorenzo Savadori (Team Pedercini Kawasaki), who
ended up 24th after crashing out twice in the first half of the race.
Superstock 600: Smith wins but Mordidelli is the new Champion
Franco Morbidelli (San Carlo Team
Italia Kawasaki) has won the 2013 European Superstock 600 Championship
title after finishing second in today's last race of the season. The
youngster from Rome could have settled easily for third after the
technical problem suffered by Christian Gamarino (Team Go Eleven
Kawasaki) on the second lap, but he closed the gap on team mate
Alessandro Nocco, passed him and even tried to take the lead in the
closing stages.
Kyle Smith (Agro-on Racedays
Honda) led from lights to flag to win the race after a blistering start
from fourth place on the grid, in what was his third-ever STK600 round.
Smith, who was born in England but has been living in Valencia since he
was seven years old, can very well consider this one a victory on home
soil.
Bastien Chesaux (EAB Ten Kate
Junior Honda) got the better of Stefano Casalotti (VFT Racing) for
fourth, after an intense battle with the Italian halfway through the
race.
