Sepang WSBK: Sykes claims dominant pole as Lowes pips Rea
Tom Sykes secured his fourth pole of the season in a dominant manner at Sepang, beating the field by seven tenths.
Photo by: Kawasaki Racing Team
Sykes, who was forced to take part in Superpole 1 after missing out on Friday's top 10 by 0.001s, confidently made it to the second part of qualifying alongside Leon Camier.
He then went fastest by six tenths on his first flyer and further extended his lead as the chequered flag fell.
Yamaha's only factory entrant Alex Lowes took an impressive second, pipping Rea by just 0.019s with a last minute gasp.
Nicky Hayden will lead the second row, finishing more than a second behind Skyes, followed by top Ducati rider Chaz Davies.
The Welshman narrowly held onto fifth with World Superbike rookies Markus Reiterberger and Lorenzo Savadori just 0.06s and 0.13s slower.
The top 10 was completed by Althea BMW's Jordi Torres, Ducati's Davide Giugliano and Honda's Michael van der Mark.
Qualifying results:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Bike | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tom Sykes |
Kawasaki Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 2:02.246 |
| 2 | Alex Lowes |
Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 2:03.002 |
| 3 | Jonathan Rea |
Kawasaki Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 2:03.021 |
| 4 |  Nicky Hayden |
Honda World Superbike Team | Honda CBR1000RR SP | 2:03.435 |
| 5 | Chaz Davies |
Ducati Team | Ducati 1199 Panigale R | 2:03.485 |
| 6 |  Markus Reiterberger |
Althea BMW Racing Team | BMW S1000 RR | 2:03.549 |
| 7 |  Lorenzo Savadori |
Ioda Racing Project | Aprilia RSV4 RF | 2:03.612 |
| 8 |  Jordi Torres |
Althea BMW Racing Team | BMW S1000 RR | 2:03.855 |
| 9 | Davide Giugliano |
Ducati Team | Ducati 1199 Panigale R | 2:04.052 |
| 10 |  Michael van der Mark |
Honda World Superbike Team | Honda CBR1000RR SP | 2:04.183 |
| 11 |  Anthony West |
Pedercini Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 2:04.440 |
| 12 | Leon Camier |
MV Agusta | MV Agusta 1000 F4 | 2:05.399 |
| 13 |  Alex de Angelis |
Ioda Racing Project | Aprilia RSV4 RF | 2:06.691 |
| 14 | Josh Brookes |
Team Milwaukee | BMW S1000 RR | 2:06.699 |
| 15 | Xavi Fores |
Barni Racing Team | Ducati 1199 Panigale R | 2:06.787 |
| 16 |  Karel Abraham |
Team Milwaukee | BMW S1000 RR | 2:07.192 |
| 17 | Luca Scassa |
VFT Racing | Ducati 1199 Panigale R | 2:07.628 |
| 18 | Joshua Hook |
Grillini Racing Team | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 2:11.197 |
| 19 |  Saeed Al Sulaiti |
Pedercini Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 2:11.320 |
| 20 |  Imre Toth |
Team Toth | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 2:11.720 |
| 21 |  Dominic Schmitter |
Grillini Racing Team | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 2:11.881 |
| 22 |  Pawel Szkopek |
Team Toth | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 2:12.277 |
| 23 | Gianluca Vizziello |
Team Go Eleven | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 2:16.701 |
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Honda reveals 2020 World Superbike challenger
Redding: Bautista cost himself 2019 WSBK crown
Espargaro: Aprilia showed podium pace at Sepang
Ex-MotoGP rider Rabat replaces Sykes at Puccetti Kawasaki WSBK team
Sykes departs Puccetti, returns to BMW as injury stand-in
Sykes secures 2023 WSBK return with Puccetti Kawasaki
Kawasaki to shut down factory WSBK team at end of 2024
Kawasaki signs Bassani to replace Yamaha-bound Rea in WSBK
Lowes to skip Aragon WSBK round after knee surgery
2024 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
MotoGP Spanish GP: Alex Marquez leads Gresini 1-2 in FP1
Pedrosa: Acosta proves KTM MotoGP bike 'can help good riders be instantly quick'
Hulkenberg to join Sauber in 2025 ahead of Audi F1 entry
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments