eni FIM Superbike World Championship
Donington Park, England
May 24, 2015
Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 23 laps, 33:52.649
2. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -9.772 seconds
3. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), -12.304
4. Leon HASLAM, UK (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -15.601
5. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -15.779
6. Alex LOWES, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -23.136
7. Jordi TORRES, Spain (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -26.674
8. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -27.206
9. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -31.469
10. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -34.659
11. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -36.298
12. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -36.682, ran off track
13. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Ducati Panigale R), -77.739, ran off track
14. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -84.434
15. Santiago BARRAGÁN, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -84.601
16. Gabor RIZMAYER, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), -1 lap
17. Imre TOTH, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), -1 lap
18. Christophe PONSSON, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -16 laps, DNF, crash
19. Nico TEROL, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -17 laps, DNF, crash
20. Niccolo CANEPA, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -19 laps, DNF, retired
21. Michael VD MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -19 laps, DNF, retired
22. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4), -20 laps, DNF, crash
World Championship Point Standings (after 12 of 26 races):
1. Rea, 280 points
2. Haslam, 179
3. Sykes, 178
4. Davies, 155
5. Torres, 117
6. Guintoli, 92
7. Baiocco, 72
8. Alex Lowes, 71
9. Mercado, 70
10. VD Mark, 67
11. Terol, 52
12. Badovini, 50
13. Ramos, 42
14. TIE, Giugliano/Salom/Camier, 40
17. Fores, 38
18. De Puniet, 19
19. Barragan, 17
20. Troy Bayliss, 15
21. Michel Fabrizio, 13
22. Sylvain Barrier, 10
23. TIE, Toth/Ponsson, 5
25. TIE, Rizmayer/Canepa, 3
27. TIE, Larry Pegram/Jed Metcher, 2
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Sykes does the Donington double for third time in a row
Lap Record tumble as the Briton dominates. Rea and Davies to complete the podium.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) made it two wins from two starts as he dominated WorldSBK race 2 at Donington Park to equal Carl Fogarty’s six race wins record in the series. The former champion, who has now won every race at the 2.5 mile circuit for the last three years, made it a clean sweep, adding the fastest lap in race 2 to the Tissot-Superpole that he secured yesterday, to win by over 9 seconds. Today’s double is the first for Sykes after almost eleven months, the last one dating back to Misano 2014.
Series leader Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) saved what could have been a huge crash as rounded Coppice Corner on lap 2, the championship leader lucky not to fall. He regrouped with some great overtaking moves to salvage second ahead of Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) who finished third for the second time today. This is the first race day of the year with Rea off the top-step of the rostrum in both encounters.
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) was fifth after being passed by Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) on the penultimate lap. The British rider overcame the pain and discomfort of cracked ribs to finish fourth. Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) claimed another strong sixth place finish after running third in the early stages.
The top ten riders were rounded out by Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) and Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) who battled race long, as they had in the opening encounter. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) was in the top ten again in ninth with Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing Ducati) tenth.
Roman Ramos (Team GO Eleven Kawasaki), David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki), Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Ducati), Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) and Santiago Barragan (Grillini SBK Team Kawasaki) were 11th to 15th respectively.
Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) crashed out of sixth at the Esses on lap 4, while Nico Terol (Althea Racing) and Christophe Ponsson (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) were taken to the Medical Centre after falling off their respective machines halfway through the race. Reigning World Supersport Champion Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike) had to pull out of the encounter due to technical issues.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Double podium for Davies and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team today at Donington Park
Donington Park (UK), Sunday 24 May 2015 – a well-deserved double podium for Chaz Davies and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team at the Donington Park circuit in the UK today; racing at his home round, Davies crossed the line third in both of the day’s races. A more difficult day for Davide Giugliano, who was seventeenth and fifth across the line.
Race 1 –cold but dry conditions for this first race of the day. Chaz, sixth on the grid, was strong off the line and lying fourth through the opening laps, behind Haslam, in third, and the two Kawasakis. Lapping with similar pace to Haslam, Welshman Davies was able to pass him on the sixteenth lap to move into third place, a position that he then held to the line, powering his Panigale R to a strong podium finish.
From the front row of the grid, Giugliano positioned fifth through the early stages of the race. Unfortunately, on lap nine, a rear tyre problem forced him to return to the pitlane where his technicians put in a new tyre. The Italian then rejoined the race but was only able to do so much from last position and despite his best efforts, with too much time to make back up, Davide crossed the line in eventual seventeenth place.
Race 2 – in the opening stages, Davide was lapping third while Chaz was lying fifth behind Lowes. After some swapping of positions, at the mid-race point the two factory Ducatis were in fourth (Chaz) and fifth (Davide), with both riders chasing down Haslam and Rea just up ahead. Davies got past Haslam on lap seventeen and, able to manage the final phase of the race effectively, concluded the race in third position once more. Giugliano battled with Haslam in the final stages of the race, crossing the line in final fifth place.
Six rounds in to the 2015 championship and Davies retains fourth place in the overall standings, with 155 points, while Giugliano positions fourteenth, having earned 40 points. Ducati, thanks to today’s double podium, moves up to second in the manufacturer’s standings with 196 points.
Quotes after the races:
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 3rd, 3rd
“I’m really pleased with today’s results. The weekend wasn’t easy but we worked hard and to finish both races on the podium here is very positive. Today we simply weren’t on the same level as the Kawasakis and doing any better than third was difficult. In race two I didn’t have much grip and also had a small problem off the line that fortunately sorted itself out right away. Let’s say I’ve done all I could here today and we can only be happy, especially considering the fact that this has always been something of a bogey track for me. Thanks to my whole team for their great work this weekend and now we’ll focus on the next races in which I hope we can score some more strong results.”
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #34) – 17th, 5th
“Of course I’m very disappointed with the race 1 result. I was really struggling with the grip and so decided to come into the pitlane and get the rear tyre changed. Doing this meant I lost too much ground and there was no way to catch up once back on track, but at least we understood what the problem was. In race 2, I was hopeful that I’d be able to do better but from mid-race the grip dropped off and I was unable to ride as I wanted to. A pity because I was sure we had everything set to be able to complete two strong races here at Donington.”
Serafino Foti – Team Manager
“All in all, today has been a positive day, in that Chaz has completed two strong races. To reach the podium in both shows stability and the continuous growth of the package. Today, in reality, the Kawasakis, and especially Sykes, had something extra. Davide, having put in a good qualifying performance, was unlucky in the races, but he nevertheless make a good second race, fighting for a podium place until a few laps from the end. We need to be prepared for the upcoming Portimao round and so the work will continue, strengthened by our experience here this weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
LEON HASLAM GRITS HIS TEETH AND TAKES A DOUBLE FOURTH PLACE, HOLDING ONTO 2nd PLACE IN THE RIDER STANDINGS
GREAT COMEBACK IN BOTH RACES FOR JORDI TORRES
SUPERSTOCK 1000: APRILIA AND SAVADORI DOMINATE THE CHAMPIONSHIP, THIRD WIN IN A ROW
Donington, 24 May 2015 – The much feared rain never arrived to shuffle the deck, but Donington was the setting of an exciting World Superbike round anyway.
On his Aprilia RSV4 Leon Haslam got off the line well from the second row in both starts, demonstrating grit and determination despite the pain from his injury at Imola. Joining the pack of British riders who monopolised the top spots, Leon kept a good pace until about the mid race point when he was forced to give in to fatigue.
Despite the difficulties, the tough British rider valiantly defended two fourth place finishes which earned important points for him and gave the Aprilia Racing – Red Devils team yet another useful result. Haslam holds onto second place in the overall rider standings and fully intends to be a key player in the coming races which are more favourable to the characteristics of his RSV4 RF.
Leon Haslam: “I’m fairly pleased with the results today considering my conditions. Obviously I would have liked to have been on the podium for my fans, but I think that in the end two fourth places are the most we could have aimed for. I started well in both races and then I started feeling the fatigue. In spite of it all, even here we showed that we are in the game. I’m looking forward to some tracks that are more favourable for us so I can perform at my best. Now we’ll start thinking about Portimão, a track which should cater well to my RSV4.”
The best Superbike 2015 rookie, Spaniard Jordi Torres, started from the fifth row of the grid but in the two races he managed to gain positions as soon as the red lights went off, continuing his comeback throughout. Overtaking often on an unfamiliar track for him and against decidedly tough adversaries, Jordi finished the two races in seventh place. This is a double result which, after analysing the weekend, leaves the Spanish rider quite satisfied.
Jordi Torres: “The truth is that I’m pleased with these two seventh places. I started from way back but I fought in both races, bringing home important points on a difficult track. We knew that it would be hard here. The English riders are doing very well and they are on their home pitch at Donington, but we managed to improve in each session. This is a strange track because it brings out both our strong points and our weaknesses, so finding an optimum setup for the RSV4 wasn’t a simple thing. Portimão will also be a new track for me, but since it is more uniform and smooth I think it might make life easier.”
SUPERSTOCK 1000: APRILIA AND SAVADORI DOMINATE THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Third win in a row for the Aprilia RSV4 RF and Lorenzo Savadori in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup. The Nuova M2 Racing Team Italian duo dominated the race from the first lap, finishing the 15 laps with a gap of almost 3 seconds ahead of the closest contender. Kevin Calia also performed well, finishing seventh at the chequered flag.
Thanks to today’s win Savadori strengthens his leadership in the rider standings, with Aprilia leading the manufacturers.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Sykes Does The Double As KRT Riders Go 1-2 Again
In the sixth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, held at Donington Park, Tom Sykes (KRT) scored a home double for his first race wins of the season so far. His team-mate Jonathan Rea was second in race one and again in race two, extending his championship lead to over 100 points.
Sykes has now won the last six WSB races at Donington, all for KRT, as he found his best machine set-up of the year to win in relatively cool conditions. He equalled the record of six Donington WSB race wins held by Carl Fogarty and took his career victory total to 24.
Sykes also set a new lap record of 1’27.640 in race two, giving him the perfect weekend when his raceday performances are added to his in Superpole qualifying success, at new track best pace on Saturday.
In race one Sykes and Rea had an often-tough battle for supremacy, passing each other regularly to share the lead until near the end of the 23 laps, when Sykes pushed on and Rea had to settle for second.
In race two, with Sykes out front at the start, Rea was ready to make his drive forward but almost fell on lap two at the fast Coppice corner, dropping to seventh place. He kept his composure and despite a severely bent rear brake lever he moved forward, contesting third place by lap 11. Rea was to get to second place after 23 laps, finishing 9.772 seconds behind Sykes.
In the championship Rea is still the clear and convincing leader, with a total of 280 points after scoring eight wins and four second place finishes in 12 races. Sykes is third, only one point behind second place, with a total of 178 points.
Portimao is the next round on the calendar, with raceday on June 7th.
Tom Sykes: “A full set this weekend – two race wins, pole position and a new lap record. After some battles in race one I had a clean start in race two and I went a little bit faster down Craner and into the Old Hairpin to stop any passes, and away we went. The bike was really nice and I made some 1’27s in the beginning. When I saw that the gap was increasing I just had to be careful in how to manage the race. I was really happy with the race performance because Marcel my crew chief and all the boys have been working really well. It is good to win all the last six races here at Donington but there is no real reason why. We are getting there now and I am able to do a little bit more of what I want to with the bike, and it showing.”
Jonathan Rea: “I did not accept defeat before the races but Donington is one of those circuits where if there is one place where my team-mate was going to really excel it was here. I had a big moment in race two and I was really lucky. When I found a rhythm I realised that Tom was on a different racetrack today but I could finish second because I knew the pace of the Kawasaki in the second part of the race would be strong. I just put my head down and put some laps together and took second. Pere my crew chief has just told me that the championship points gap is in three figures, which I cannot believe. It is incredible, so we just need to keep doing the same.”
David Salom (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) took tenth and 12th place finishes at Donington and is now 15th in the championship. Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) was 13th in race one and 11th in race two, placing him 13th in the points standings.
More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda:
Guintoli pleased with Donington progress
Sylvain Guintoli scored two eighth place finishes in today’s sixth round World Superbike championship races at Donington Park in the UK, both of which were won by local rider Tom Sykes.
Pata Honda rider Guintoli used much of the weekend’s practice and races to evaluate a revised frame and swingarm combination on his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machine and the 32-year-old declared himself happy with the positive effect these new components had on his overall performance.
By contrast, his Pata Honda team-mate Michael van der Mark endured a torrid race day, crashing out of race one and then being forced to retire from the second 23-lap outing at the 4.023km Donington Park circuit with a technical issue.
The team will re-group for the seventh round WSBK meeting at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve near Portimao in Portugal in a little under two weeks seeking further positive progress with the CBR package.
Sylvain Guintoli – 8th & 8th
It’s was a weekend to assess quite a lot of new parts and there are some good points to take from it. In the second part of the lap we were doing some quite good times and we gained stability under braking. We managed to be quite fast there so that’s good, but there are still areas where we struggled. In race two we managed to keep a much better pace at the end of the race. It was not faster at the start but much faster and more constant at the end, so that’s an improvement. I also had a good battle with my ex-bike and unfortunately just lost that by a tiny bit! The front runners were quite a long way from us today, but we have to keep fighting and keep improving the package for the rest of the season. We’ll keep the new frame and swingarm for Portimao to develop it more there.
Michael van der Mark – DNF & DNF
There’s not really much to say because it’s been the most disappointing weekend for me on a superbike. I felt like we made some progress during each session except in Superpole yesterday when I could not get the qualifying tyre to work. That left me quite a long way back on the grid so I was pushing hard in race one to make up some places when I crashed. I’m not sure what the problem was in race two but there was a technical problem with the front of the bike that meant I could not continue. It’s a shame but we will learn from these issues as we always try to and move forward to Portugal.
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator
Michael has not had a good day with a crash in race one and then in race two he had a mechanical problem with the front of the bike which we tried to fix but he had to retire. Sylvain found some good chassis improvements this weekend and he finished eighth in race one. We made some changes to the geometry for race two because he was losing out a lot in the second sector and that worked out better as well. It meant he could maintain a much better pace overall until the last few laps when he had to let it go a little. But it’s been a positive weekend with good steps and he’s feeling more happy with the bike, so we’ll take that to the next race in Portugal.
More, from a press release issued by Voltcom Crescent Suzuki:
Strong performance by Lowes and Voltcom Crescent Suzuki at home
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s spirits were lifted at Donington Park today, as Alex Lowes fought his way to a stunning double sixth place finish in the afternoon’s two races.
Dressed for the UK round with patriotically designed Shark helmet and RST leathers, Lowes put up a determined effort on his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R in the opening Superbike race – taking fifth place from Ducati’s Davide Giugliano on the fourth lap and matching the pace of the podium runners for the majority of the 23-laps. Holding the all-British top-five position for much of the race, a lack of grip in the closing stages eventually saw the local racer succumb to the approaching BMW of Ayrton Badovini, crossing the line in sixth for ten well-deserved points.
A strong start to the second race also saw Lowes hard on the back of the leading pack, fighting his way to fourth and then third place by the close of lap four. His podium aspirations may have been short lived, thanks to the factory Ducati paring of Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano, but the Suzuki racer continued to hold on to his top-six position, claiming a further haul of ten points and elevating himself up to eighth position overall in the Championship standings.
Starting in 18th on the grid, after a difficult qualifying session yesterday, Randy de Puniet brought his Suzuki GSX-R1000 home in 14th in both of the day’s races. Continuing to struggle with engine braking, he ran off the track on two occasions during the late afternoon encounter but the Frenchman dug deep, securing four championship points and promoting him up a place in the rider standings.
A surprisingly dry, but cold Donington Park hosted a 30,000 strong crowd as Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes recreated his 2014 visit with a double victory. His team-mate Jonathan Rea claimed second from Davies in both of the day’s battles.
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki now returns to its UK base this evening to begin preparations for the seventh round of World Superbike competition, at Portimao in Portugal, in a fortnight’s time.
Alex Lowes:
“I’m happy enough with today as the boys – and the bike! – worked well and I did my best to be as competitive as possible. I was struggling with grip in both races and with some confidence on corner entry which lost me some time, but the second race felt better than the first. We’ve made some big steps forward, so now we’ve got something to build on to keep improving further for the next race. I did all I could and the team did a fantastic job, and as ever the support here was great. I always enjoy racing at Donington, and to fight a bit with the top guys, get two consistent finishes and some solid points here was good.”
Randy de Puniet:
“The bike has improved a lot but still not an easy weekend. After a good start on Friday, yesterday we struggled to change gear and this morning unfortunately I broke one engine during warm-up so I was not able to find the best setting for the race. In race one I still had some downshifting issues and the engine brake was far from perfect so I finished 14th. In race two the gear change was a little better but after seven laps I struggled with the engine brake and I ran off the track twice. Everyone in the team has been giving their best and we were unlucky with the engine this morning, so I really hope now we can improve more in Portimao.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Donington has been a positive step forward and we’ve finally turned a corner with the Marelli electronics system – the bike is responding to changes in the way it should. The basic operation of the engine is more stable and easier for the engineers to manage and so finally we have been able to begin working on more normal race weekend details. In that respect this has really felt like the first proper test with this system, as over the last three events the team’s only focus has been to try and get the bike functioning.
“Given the lack of set up time and lack of race rhythm we’ve had since March, Alex’s two sixth places today were great results, backed up by a solid fifth on the grid. Taking race two as an example, we were only beaten by the factory Kawasaki’s, factory Ducati’s, and Leon on the factory Aprilia – so we have to put the result into context. Congratulations to Alex and to the whole team across both sides of the garage for making this step and for keeping focused and positive. Now we can start to work on understanding how to make the bike faster over race distance and as Alex’s confidence regrows, we will be looking for these types of results and better.
“Two 14th places for Randy isn’t something to be excited about and he’s disappointed, but it’s two points scoring finishes, which again is a step forward by comparison to the last races and we will keep doing everything we can to improve the bike for him so that he can improve his pace.”