Alcaniz (Spain), Sunday 13 April 2014 – The second round of the 2014 eni FIM Superbike World Championship was taken by storm by Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki, that claimed the first two steps of the podium in both World Superbike races, as well as coming out on top in World Supersport. and with the best classified EVO rider in race 2.
Tom Sykes took the double on the team’s home round, in front of the 24,255 spectators attending the event, whilst Loris Baz ended up twice second. The Kawasaki Racing Team pairing are now on top of the riders standings, with Sykes (75 points) leading and Baz just four points shy of his teammate. Aprilia Racing Team duo Sylvain Guintoli and Marco Melandri lie currently in third and fourth position respectively, with the Italian rider able to finish within the top 3 in the second and last race of the day.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) stepped on the podium for the first time since the 2013 UK round at Silverstone, as the British rider was third in Race 1.
The next round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship will take place at the Assen TT Circuit on April 27th.
Tom Sykes: “We scored two race wins today but after four or five laps of race two it felt far from perfect! Race one was very good and we had a good set-up that gave us a consistent pace on a cold track. I thought race two was going to be more straightforward in hot conditions so I went for the same SC0 as race one. The two guys behind me for sure had more grip than me but we were for sure able to put the Ninja ZX-10R on the pieces of tarmac those guys were looking for. I had a plan on the last lap to keep them behind me – and it worked.”
Jonathan Rea: “It’s been a really positive weekend for us to go back on the podium this early in the season. I really enjoy riding the bike at this circuit and we’ve made a lot of improvements since Phillip Island. In race one I ran into some rear tyre problems, but in race two we went with the softer option, which most of the grid changed to. We deserved two solid top fives today and I feel we can now take some momentum to Assen where we know the bike is good and build on this at a circuit I really enjoy.
Race 1
The opening race has been won by Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) after a masterful performance of the reigning World Champion. Sykes, who led from turn one was never headed, coming home seconds ahead of Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team), with Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) completing the podium. Davide Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team) crashed during the final lap whilst in second place, but the Italian rider was able to rejoin, eventually crossing the line… (read more)
Race 2
The second race of the day at MotorLand Aragon was a carbon copy of race 1, with Kawasaki Racing Team riders Tom Sykes and Loris Baz dominating in the Spanish sun. Baz who had been unable to stick with his team mate in the opening race looked a lot more comfortable this afternoon as did Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) who was incredibly fast at the end of the race, closing down the two green machines rapidly to put himself in the hunt for the victory. In a spectacular final three laps the three… (read more)
Superstock 1000
Argentinian Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Team Ducati) led from start to finish to win the opening FIM Superstock 1000cc Cup race in perfect conditions this afternoon. The 13 lap race was fast and furious with four riders involved in the fight for the final podium places. Fabio Massei had a huge crash on lap 4, the Italian highsiding his EAB Racing Ducati without injury. Behind Mercado, Lorenzo … (read more)
Results: 1. Mercado (Ducati) 13 Laps/69.472 km in 26’37.837 average 156.524 kph; 2. Savadori (Kawasaki) 5.218; 3. Smith (Honda) 8.818; 4. Bergman (Kawasaki) 17.974; 5. D’Annunzio (BMW) 23.182; 6. Lussiana (Kawasaki) 23.714; 7. Grotzkyj G. (Kawasaki) 25.882; 8. McFadden (Kawasaki) 28.777; 9. Valk (Kawasaki) 30.259; 10. Lanusse (Kawasaki) 30.790; 11. Day (Honda) 35.064; 12. Castellarin (BMW) 37.456; 13. Pagaud (Kawasaki) 38.300; 14. Suchet (Kawasaki) 40.403; 15. Schacht (Ducati) 43.670; etc.
Standings (Round 1 of 7): 1. Mercado 25; 2. Savadori 20; 3. Smith 16; 4. Bergman 13; 5. D’Annunzio 11; 6. Lussiana 10; 7. Grotzkyj G. 9; 8. McFadden 8; 9. Valk 7; 10. Lanusse 6; 11. Day 5; 12. Castellarin 4; 13. Pagaud 3; 14. Suchet 2; 15. Schacht 1. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 25; 2. Kawasaki 20; 3. Honda 16; 4. BMW 11.
European Junior Cup
Local rider Marc Miralles (Honda Spain) has won the opening race of the Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda, at the end of a thrilling seven way battle for success. The young Spaniard was able to pull away a little in the final turns of the race, making sure his rivals could not overtake him before the finish line. The all Spanish podium was completed by Javier Orellana (Europe Food SL) and pole man Mika Perez (Cuna de Campeones).
Results: 1. Miralles 8 Laps/42.752 km in 19’33.987 average 131.098 kph; 2. Orellana 0.166; 3. Perez 0.167; 4. Fernandez 0.533; 5. Fernandez 0.888; 6. Licciardi 0.948; 7. Soomer 1.585; 8. Grassia 4.091; 9. Hubner 9.702; 10. Harland 9.740; etc.
Standings (Round 1 of 8): 1. Miralles 25; 2. Orellana 20; 3. Perez 16; 4. Fernandez 13; 5. Fernandez 11; 6. Licciardi 10; 7. Soomer 9; 8. Grassia 8; 9. Hubner 7; 10. Harland 6; 11. London 5; 12. Geissler 4; 13. Wisdom 3; 14. Patterson 2; 15. Zhu 1.
