IN THE TENTH ROUND OF THE WORLD SBK CHAMPIONSHIP IT’S A DOUBLE ONE-TWO FOR THE ITALIAN BIKES ON THE SPANISH TRACK.

MARCO MELANDRI WINS BOTH RACES IN FRONT OF TEAM MATE GUINTOLI.

Jerez de la Frontera, 7 September 2014 – Aprilia had no rivals at Jerez in the tenth round of the World SBK Championship. The RSV4s from Noale proved their superiority taking first and second place in both Race 1 and Race 2.

It was Melandri who earned both wins with authority and employing a similar strategy. In both Race 1 and Race 2 Marco found himself behind in the initial phases, sixth in the first race and fifth in the second. In both cases he skilfully and steadfastly came back, demonstrating undisputed superiority and an optimum feeling with his RSV4. This takes Melandri to five wins this season.

In both races Sylvain Guintoli took the lead early, trying to pull away from his rivals. Once overtaken by Melandri Guintoli confidently managed his position, finishing in second place twice to earn 13 championship points and close the gap behind championship leader, Sykes, whose advantage has now been reduced to just 31 points over Aprilia Racing’s Frenchman.

The double win at Jerez also has an impact on the Manufacturers Championship: with the 50 points earned in Spain, Aprilia makes up 23 on Kawasaki which now places them just one point from the top spot in the championship standings.

Marco Melandri: “After the crash in Race 2 at Laguna Seca I was very disappointed because we could have taken a double win there. This weekend my team and I started off well straight away, changing very little on the bike and my RSV4 performed very well today. The second race was a bit more difficult because with the higher temperatures the track has less grip. I tried to be consistent even though I wasn’t really fast at the beginning of the race, but I managed to maintain my pace steadily, making up places over my rivals. This was a great Sunday for me. Now I can relax for a few days before getting back on the track.”

Sylvain Guintoli: “Our goal here was to make up points on Tom and that’s what we did. Last year I didn’t do too well here so I wasn’t expecting to be able to battle for the win in both races. I gave it my all, working hard to solve the problems we had during practice and pushing to the limit today. The next round is at Magny Cours, a track that I like and where I know I can count on support from our French fans to keep fighting for the Championship. With 100 points left on the table anything can still happen.”

JEREZ – RACE 1

1. Melandri (Aprilia)
2. Guintoli (Aprilia)
3. Davies (Ducati)
4. Rea (Honda)
5. Sykes (Kawasaki)
6. Laverty (Suzuki)
7. Haslam (Honda)
8. Elias (Aprilia)
9. Salom (Kawasaki)
10. Barrier (BMW)

WSBK 2014 – RIDERS

1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 352
2. Guintoli (Aprilia) 321
3. Rea (Honda) 285
4. Melandri (Aprilia) 267
5. Baz (Kawasaki) 262
6. Davies (Ducati) 188
7. Laverty (Suzuki) 154
8. Giugliano (Ducati) 153
9. Elias (Aprilia) 151
10. Haslam (Honda) 150

JEREZ – RACE 2

1. Melandri (Aprilia)
2. Guintoli (Aprilia)
3. Sykes (Kawasaki)
4. Davies (Ducati)
5. Rea (Honda)
6. Laverty (Suzuki)
7. Baz (Kawasaki)
8. Haslam (Honda)
9. Lowes (Suzuki)
10. Elias (Aprilia)

WSBK 2014 – MANUFACTURERS

1. Kawasaki 369
2. Aprilia 368
3. Honda 285
4. Ducati 249
5. Suzuki 220
6. BMW 69
7. MV Agusta 21
8. EBR 2

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