Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Global

Donington WSBK: Sykes fights back to win as Davies crashes out

Pole-sitter Tom Sykes recovered from a sluggish opening lap to win the first World Superbike race at Donington Park, as early leader Chaz Davies fell twice.

Tom Sykes, Kawasaki Racing Team

Tom Sykes, Kawasaki Racing Team

John Rowley

Tom Sykes, Kawasaki Racing Team
Tom Sykes, Kawasaki Racing Team
Davide Giugliano, Aruba.IT Racing - Ducati
Davide Giugliano, Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Team
Davide Giugliano, Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Team
Davide Giugliano, Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Team
Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing Team

Despite dominating qualifying, Sykes dropped down to fourth over the duration of a single lap to run behind his Kawasaki teammate Jonathan Rea and the two Ducatis of Davies and Davide Giugliano.

Davies, second on the grid, stole the lead at Turn 1 and the Welshman was joined by teammate Giugliano, who made a forceful move on Sykes.

Having lost momentum after the overtake, Sykes was demoted by points leader Rea and spent the early stages in fourth.

While Giugliano put some pressure on his teammate initially, he started to lose ground, only to inherit the lead on Lap 6 when Davies fell at the final turn, dropping to 16th.

He was on course to finish within the top 10, having recovered to ninth in the space of 10 laps, but crashed again and retired in the gravel.

Now second, Rea copied Davies in making a mistake at the same spot, the championship leader running wide and falling behind Sykes, although he was able to rejoin.

That allowed Giugliano and Sykes to spend the rest of the race separated from the rest of the field, with the latter slowly putting increasing pressure on the Italian.

Despite successfully holding off the first couple of overtaking attempts, Giugliano eventually had to give up the lead as Sykes went past him at the hairpin.

Sykes then shook off Giugliano and took the chequered flag first, denying the Ducati rider his maiden WSBK win.

Rea completed the podium seven seconds adrift, having made the same mistake one more time.

Although front-row starter Lorenzo Savadori (Ioda Aprilia) spent the majority of the race in fourth, he ran wide in the final stages and had to settle for sixth.

Leon Camier (MV Agusta) was overtaken by Nicky Hayden early on, but the Briton fought back to secure fourth, with the Honda rider completing the top five.

Hayden's teammate Michael Van der Mark recovered to eighth from 13th on the grid, unable to pass Jordi Torres (Althea BMW) in the end.

Karel Abraham (Milwaukee BMW) and Anthony West (Pedercini Kawasaki) took ninth and 10th respectively, the latter making a visit into the gravel after contact with Alex de Angelis.

WSBK debutant and Yamaha's sole factory representative, Cameron Beaubier, retired in the early stages of the race.

Full results:

PosRiderTeamBikeTime/Gap
1 United KingdomTom Sykes  Kawasaki Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R 34:04.276
2 ItalyDavide Giugliano  Ducati Team Ducati 1199 Panigale R +2.869
3 United KingdomJonathan Rea  Kawasaki Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R +9.808
4 United KingdomLeon Camier  MV Agusta MV Agusta 1000 F4 +13.747
5 United StatesNicky Hayden  Honda Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR SP +14.007
6 ItalyLorenzo Savadori  Ioda Racing Project Aprilia RSV4 RF +14.640
7 SpainJordi Torres  Althea Racing BMW S1000 RR +16.337
8 NetherlandsMichael van der Mark  Honda Ten Kata Honda CBR1000RR SP +16.535
9 Czech RepublicKarel Abraham  Team Milwaukee BMW S1000 RR +36.874
10 AustraliaAnthony West  Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +39.074
11 GermanyMarkus Reiterberger  Althea Racing BMW S1000 RR +41.144
12 SpainXavi Fores  Barni Racing Team Ducati 1199 Panigale R +41.275
13 SpainRoman Ramos  Team Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R +48.094
14 AustraliaJosh Brookes  Team Milwaukee BMW S1000 RR +50.125
15 SwitzerlandDominic Schmitter  Grillini SBK Team Kawasaki ZX-10R +1:18.008
16 PolandPawel Szkopek  Team Toth Yamaha YZF-R1 +1:29.605
17 QatarSaeed Al Sulaiti  Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1 lap
18 HungaryImre Toth  Team Toth Yamaha YZF-R1 +2 laps
R Luca Scassa  VFT Racing Ducati 1199 Panigale R  
R Chaz Davies  Ducati Team Ducati 1199 Panigale R  
R Alex de Angelis  Ioda Racing Project Aprilia RSV4 RF  
R  Mathieu Lussiana  Team Aspi BMW S1000 RR  
R United StatesCameron Beaubier  Pata Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1  

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Donington WSBK: Sykes dominates for fifth pole of 2016
Next article Donington WSBK: Sykes holds off Rea for second win of the weekend

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Global