Editorial Note: The race was stopped by a red flag after seven laps were completed. It was restarted for a 10-lap final segment.

FIM Superbike World Championship

Losail International Circuit

Doha, Qatar

October 30, 2016

Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 10 laps, Total Race Time 19:38.203, Best Lap Time 1:57.076

2. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -5.855 seconds, 1:57.387

3. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -6.376, 1:56.974

4. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Yamaha YZF-R1), -8.493, 1:57.760

5. Leon HASLAM, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -11.862, 1:58.009

6. Jordi TORRES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), -12.232, 1:58.166

7. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -13.599, 1:57.833, started original portion of race from pit lane

8. Xavi FORES, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -14.210, 1:58.088

9. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -14.282, 1:57.729

10. Alex LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R1), -14.414, 1:57.788

11. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -15.169, 1:58.437

12. Lorenzo SAVADORI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -19.401, 1:58.257

13. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta 1000 F4), -22.236, 1:58.796

14. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -25.995, 1:59.323

15. Markus REITERBERGER, Germany (BMW S1000RR), -29.701, 1:59.432

16. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -33.205, 1:59.676

17. Gianluca VIZZIELO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -44.627, 2:00.518

18. Dominic SCHMITTER, Switzerland, (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -44.753, 2:00.691

19. Peter SEBESTYÉN, Hungary (Yamaha YZF-R1), -45.186, 2:00.897

20. Pawel SZKOPEK, Poland (Yamaha YZF-R1), -60.135, 2:02.016

21. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), -1 lap, DNF, crash, 1:59.577

22. Alex DE ANGELIS, Republic San Marino (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -10 laps, DNF, mechanical

23. Saeed AL SULAITI, Qatar (Kawasaki ZX-10R), DNS, mechanical problem in first portion of race

24. Josh BROOKES, Australia (BMW S1000RR), DNS, crashed out of first portion of race

25. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), DNS

World Championship Point Standings (after 26 of 26 races):

1. Rea, 498 points (Clinches 2016 Superbike World Championship)

2. Sykes, 447

3. Davies, 445

4. Van Der Mark, 267

5. Hayden, 248

6. Torres, 213

7. Giugliano, 197

8. Camier, 168

9. Savadori, 150

10. Fores, 151

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:

Davies Dominates the Ultimate Showdown in Qatar

– Ducati rider lights the way in drama-filled season finale –

The final race of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship had it all; Ducati dominating proceedings, a Pedercini Kawasaki flaming inferno and an admirable show of team spirit by the current World Champion. Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing- Ducati) shattered the competition from beginning to end, even after the race was restarted. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki racing Team) was given a ray of hope when his teammate and newly crowned World Champion, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) let him pass on the final corner to take second and the overall runner-up spot.

Rea and Davies dragged each other off the start into the illuminated first corner, fighting for the lead. Davies got ahead but Rea was quick to retake control at the front. Lorenzo Savadori (IodaRacing Team) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) ran wide into the first corner together, while Honda World Superbike Team’s Nicky Hayden had to start the race from the pit lane after an early evening engine change exceeded his season’s allocation.

Entering the first corner of the second lap, Rea ran into trouble running off track as Davies got ahead, setting the fastest laps. The Kawasaki rider rejoined in P13 and immediately began attacking to recover positions. With the Welshman away in front, Sykes made a dash to catch Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) who was promoted to second after Rea ran off.

Leon Haslam (Pedercini Racing) had a good pace, reaching a respectable fifth place from P16 on the grid, before Saeed Al Sulaiti’s Pedercini Kawasaki caught fire, just as the Qatari had reached P15. The race was red-flagged while the track marshals cleaned up oil spilled from Al Sulaiti’s bike.

After fifteen minutes, the race restarted for a ten-lap dash to decide the final victor of 2016. Davies and Sykes shot to the front maintaining their first and second positions, while Rea recovered his poor restart, to set a new lap record on his hunt towards the front.

Before long it was a KRT battle for second as the teammates pushed each other and overtook each other at every opportunity. On the final lap, Rea put on an incredible show of team spirit and slowed right down to let Sykes- who had fallen three seconds behind- to catch up and take second, to secure the runner-up spot in the Championship.

Further behind, Guintoli brought his Yamaha home in fourth ahead of fifth-placed Haslam. Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) finished in sixth with the Kentucky Kid picking up seventh. Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) came home in eighth, while Raffaele De Rosa (Althea BMW Racing Team) picked up a solid collection of points in ninth, with Lowes rounding out the top ten.

Michael van der Mark (Honda World Superbike Team) finished in P11, Savadori came home in P12, while Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) locked out P13. Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN) and Markus Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team) picked up the final points in P14 and P15.

After a thrilling finale, WorldSBK will now recharge their batteries before the new season return to Phillip Island in February in 2017. Until then, stay up to date with the latest news and videos on WorldSBK.com.

Quotes from the top three riders:

1st place

Chaz Davies (DUCATI): “Winning these last six race in a row I’ve kind of proved a point. I’ve proved that the Panigale is a competitive championship package, as we knew it was when I signed a few years ago. I have proved to myself that I can win more than just one race at the odd track and we have had 11 wins, six in a row, it’s been incredible. It is something special and it is not easy to achieve one double, let alone three in a row. So hats off to Ducati, all my team have done a fantastic job this year, they have never stopped believing me and have always been looking for the next level.”

2nd place

Tom Sykes (KAWASAKI): “It was solid enough. I was missing some pace but I just focused on the race but the red flag was sure difficult. I missed a lot of time on Friday with some brake problems and never really rode the bike to 100%. We suffered on the front end but what can I say. In the race in the first part I was setting myself up for the long distance, so I didn’t push so hard at the beginning to save the tyre. In the restart I knew we were a little bit in trouble because we have missed some pace all weekend. I dug deep and had good initial speed but Jonathan pushed hard and was going for the win and I could see what was happening. He was closing Chaz down and Chaz was responding. It was a fantastic gesture by the other side of the garage to do this you know. I am quite speechless and being a gentleman I really, really appreciate this kind of gesture. I will remember it until I am very old. We have lost championships in the past from team orders from other manufacturers so to have this and for it to gift us second in the championship, a one-two for Kawasaki in the championship. It has been a heck of a season for Kawasaki!”

3rd place

Jonathan Rea (KAWASAKi): “The red flag saved us and starting again from ninth I was completely pumped to make a good race. The pace was good, I felt really good on the bike and then on the last lap I knew that barring a mistake from Chaz I knew that there was no way that I could get through cleanly so I played the clever game. I knew the maths and wanted to be a team player. Without team orders, speaking inside the team like gentlemen I knew that it was more important for the big picture that we have a one-two. So I am very happy for myself because I have achieved my target. I am happy for Kawasaki with the one-two in the championship because I think it is the first time. I am also happy for Tom because he has played a key role in Kawasaki’s success. Thanks to everybody. I am looking forward to going home now to recharge my batteries, but I enjoyed that race!”

More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing BMW:

Althea BMW closes the final SBK race at Qatar in sixth place with Torres

Doha (Qatar), Sunday 30 October 2016

The Althea BMW Racing team concluded the final race of the 2016 World Superbike season, which took place this evening at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, with positive results as riders Jordi Torres, Raffaele De Rosa and Markus Reiterberger crossed the line sixth, ninth and fifteenth respectively.

Superbike – Race 2 – a red flag stopped the race on lap seven when the engine of another rider blew up, leaving oil on the track. At that point, the Althea BMW men were lying in fifth (De Rosa), sixth (Torres) and thirteenth (Reiterberger) place, the positions they therefore took on the ‘new’ race grid.

After a brief pause, the quick restart procedure was implemented and the race, shortened to a ten-lap sprint, got underway. All three of the Althea BMW riders lost a little ground at the start and while De Rosa was lying sixth, Torres was in tenth place and Reiterberger was seventeenth. While De Rosa gave chase to Haslam, Torres closed the gap to Hayden and VD Mark, passing both by the fourth lap. Thanks to a consistent pace, Raffaele maintained sixth place for almost the entire race, until a gear problem emerged a couple of laps before the finish line, causing the Italian to lose a couple of positions in the home stretch. Reiterberger also made up a couple of places during what was a difficult race for him. At the end of a hard-fought ten laps, Torres finished sixth, De Rosa ninth and Reiterberger fifteenth.

With the 2016 championship now concluded, Jordi Torres secured overall sixth place in the standings with 213 points while Reiterberger finishes sixteenth with 82 points. De Rosa, the new Superstock 1000 champion, has scored 16 points in the two SBK rounds he has participated in this season. BMW closes fourth in the manufacturer’s classification with 234 points, while Althea BMW also lies fourth in the team rankings (310 points).

Jordi Torres:

“Today’s race went fairly well. It was just a shame I messed up the start, in both heats. In the restart, someone also made contact with me and I lost ground as a result. But I quickly got back into a rhythm and gradually made up some places, pushing 100% to finish sixth. So I made a good recovery and am pleased with how we’ve finished the season, sixth in this race but also sixth in the championship.”

Markus Reiterberger:

“Today’s was a tough race. I don’t know what happened. In the first heat I was doing OK but then the race was red-flagged. I then made a bad start in the second heat and lost a lot of positions. I recovered a little but only finished 15th, which I’m not happy with of course. I’ve just lost my feeling with the bike and any changes we make don’t really improve that so there’s a lot of work to do. I want to thank Genesio and the entire team for all their help, as well as my sponsors and everyone else who’s supported me this season.”

Raffaele Da Rosa:

“I’m really pleased, also because yesterday’s race was difficult, though it helped us prepare well for today I think. I made a good start and was doing well in the second chasing group when the race was red-flagged. When the race restarted I didn’t get away as well and the race pace was even quicker. When I looked at the times on my dash I realised just how fast we were going. Anyway I tried to stay focused and make up as many positions as possible. I leave here happy with the work we’ve done and also pleased with today’s race result. I want to thank Genesio again for having given me this opportunity.”

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Kawasaki Riders Go 1-2 In The Final Rankings After Double Podium

A remarkable year for Kawasaki and KRT riders Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes was rounded off by a 1-2 finish in the Riders’ Championship, as Sykes retained his overall second place with a second place finish. He came home just ahead of Rea after a shortened ten-lap race two at Losail. Jonathan Rea had won the championship itself the day before but the final points scores ended up Rea 498 and Sykes 447 after the very last race of 13-round season.

In 2016 Kawasaki and its official KRT squad won all the major titles on offer – for riders, manufacturers and team. The championship 1-2 for Rea and Sykes was the final part of the overall winning package for the Ninja ZX-10R. Remarkably, all this on-track success came in the first year of a new model, which was only launched a year ago.

The final race of the year got underway on schedule at 21.00 local time in Qatar and was planned for 17-laps. After an oil spill the red flags came out and the track had to be cleaned. A shorter 10-lap restart began almost 45 minutes after the first, and with full championship points issued.

Rea had run-on early in the first red-flagged race and was down in ninth on the grid for the restart instead of the pole position he had earned on Saturday. Sykes was second off the grid in the restart and harried eventual winner Chaz Davies, the only rider who could catch and pass Tom to take second in the points.

As Rea improved his pace and looked to win the final race of his second back-to-back championship season, he overtook Tom and closed in on the lead of Davies. Unable to catch and pass before the final flag he eased up and Sykes secured second place to maintain his overall second in the championship.

With both KRT riders on the podium their 2016 statistics grew again and made happy reading for rider and manufacturer alike. Rea, the 2015 and 2016 champion, has scored nine race wins this year, taken 23 podiums in 26 races, two pole positions and six fastest laps – including the new Losail lap record of 1’56.974, which he set on lap three today.

Sykes’ latest podium gives him 20 for the season, including five wins. He has earned eight more Superpole wins in 2016 and six fastest laps.

In the final Manufacturers’ Championship standings, Kawasaki has 582, 65 more than the nearest rival.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “I was trying to get to Chaz to win the first attempted race. When I started the bike felt good but when I approached turn one I could not shift gears as a sensor had failed so I ran-on. I lost places so the red flag saved me when it came out. The crew changed it really quickly for the restart and we made a step forward. Today I rode with my heart; rode like I can. In a ten-lap race, starting from ninth place, the maths did not stack up well! I got beaten-up in the first two corners and spent too long behind Leon Haslam and Tom. Chaz had a bit of a gap on me but I closed it right down. When I saw it was not possible to win I decided to work for the team and Kawasaki. We rode a really, really fast race here. A lap record, a pole position and a world championship came our way this weekend, so Qatar has been pretty good to me.”

Tom Sykes, stated: “To finish runner up has a better ring to it than third and Kawasaki has gone 1-2 in the Riders’ Championship this year. It was a strange weekend in some ways but finally in the first part of race two, which eventually got red-flagged, I was preparing for a longer race. I think our pace at the end could have also been quite good over 17-laps. In the restart to finally do some 1’57 laps was something unexpected. After Jonathan passed me he was closing in on Chaz but obviously when he looked at Chaz’s lap time he would have had to do something special to win. Jonathan has had two great seasons and he has been the man to beat. It was a very good gesture from the other side of the team and this is something that I appreciate so much.”

Guim Roda, Team Manager, stated: “This is the first year of the current model Ninja ZX-10R’s introduction and it has taken the Manufacturers’ title, plus first and second in the championship. Sometimes, there are in life bigger things than your own interests, and that makes life magic and exciting. Today it was possible, for the first time ever, for Kawasaki to finish first and second in the Riders’ Championship. Be sure next year the competition will be there again and Rea and Sykes will provide a big show to the world again. Congratulations to Tom and congratulations to Johnny – you give the team something we lost in the past.”

Steve Guttridge, Kawasaki Europe Racing Manager, stated: “We won the Manufacturers’ Championship, the Team Championship and had first and second places in the Riders’ Championship. I am absolutely delighted and the guys did a fantastic job this year again. They have stepped it up another level with the new Ninja ZX-10R.”

Leon Haslam (Pedercini Racing Team) made a remarkable charge in the final running of the ten lap second race, finishing fifth in his return to WorldSBK as a one-off rider. Roman Ramos (GoEleven Kawasaki) finished 14th in the race and in doing so also finished 14th in the final championship rankings.

Local rider Saeed Al Sulaiti (Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) was out of race two with a technical issue but Grillini Racing Kawasaki riders Gianluca Vizziello and Dominic Schmitter finished the ten-lap race 17th and 18th respectively.

More, from a press release issued by Honda:

Great recovery to seventh for Hayden in final race of the season

Round 13 – Qatar

Losail International Circuit, Qatar

The lights on the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship went off today as the series lived its final race of the season at the Losail International Circuit. Honda WorldSBK Team’s Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark finished in 7th and 11th places, respectively, at the end of a shortened 10-lap race two in Qatar. The initial encounter was red flagged during the eighth lap after a technical problem occurred to the bike of local rider Saeed Al Sulaiti.

After starting from pit-lane, Nicky Hayden made his way up to 15th position before the red flag was deployed. At the restart, the 35-year-old American gained some positions and, in the final four laps, he was able to find some extra pace that allowed him to join the 4-way battle for fifth. Hayden made a couple of successful moves on Fores and De Rosa before the chequered flag to end up seventh.

Michael van der Mark got a great launch off row three but ended up losing several positions as he was pushed wide at turn one. The former World Supersport Champion made up some ground and by lap eight he was back to ninth place. When the new race got underway, van der Mark moved up to eighth place but could not hold on to it and finished eleventh in his last race with the team and Honda.

The final standings see Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden in fourth and fifth places, respectively.

Nicky Hayden 69

7th

It has not been an easy day. Towards the end of the race yesterday we started experiencing a little bit of a problem. We hoped it was due to some changes we made but as soon as I went out in the warm up it was still there so I only did one lap and that was it. The team had to change the engine and we had to start from the pit-lane, which is not nice but those are the rules! I got away pretty well, was chipping away and making some moves and luckily for me the race was red flagged. I was back in the group although still back in 15th place but again I started chipping away and had some nice battles and in the end I was seventh, which from pit-lane is definitely not bad! I also was able to make up a couple of places on the last lap and that was nice, too. All things considered, given the time we also lost in warm up, it was not an easy day but we salvaged something. I want to thank the team, all my crew, the sponsors and everybody behind me: I’m now looking forward to next year.

Michael van der Mark 60

11th

I really good start in the first race but I had a big moment in turn one as I got hit from behind. I was way back again and was struggling to get up to speed. After the red flag we changed a little bit the bike setup for the second start and I got away quite well again, but even with new tyres I struggled to find the right grip. It was quite frustrating, because I thought we would have made quite a step forward but thing simply didn’t work today. Of course, I wish the season and my journey with Honda would have ended with a better result, but fourth in the championship is a great achievement and I want to thank all the guys for the hard work they have done. I think we can be really happy with what we’ve done this year.

Pieter Breddels

Technical Manager

The day didn’t start off well as we had to change the engine on Nicky’s bike and that meant he had to start from pit-lane. The red flag really came to our assistance and in the new 10-lap sprint race he showed a great pace, especially at the end. So all in all, compared to how it looked at the beginning, a seventh place is a pretty good result. Michael unfortunately wasn’t as comfortable as expected in the first part of the race, so we decided to make some changes during the red flag break. He still didn’t have the right amount grip and that made him an easy target for his rivals. Eleventh is not the result we would have hoped for Michael’s last race with us, but we want to thank him for an amazing four years together. He has many years of racing ahead of him so, who knows, maybe our paths will cross again at some point?

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Red Flag Cuts Short Guintoli’s Double Podium Dash

Sylvain Guintoli concluded his season with the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team, and Yamaha’s returning year in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, with an almost fairy-tale ending, closing in on second position at the mid-point of Losail International Circuit’s final race. However, a red flag on the eighth lap meant it wasn’t to be and a hard-fought fourth position in the 10-lap restart proved to be his swansong. An equally dramatic turn of events left Alex Lowes fighting from the back of the grid to claim a top-10 finish in the evening’s restarted second race.

Rapid from the off, Guintoli looked to be easily on for a double podium as the last race of the year got underway. Running third from the first lap, an early tussle first with Tom Sykes and then Xavi Fores was soon put to rest as he confidently got into a smooth rhythm. Picking up the pace as he broke the chasing pack and headed for second he was untimely stopped by the red flag, as a competitor’s machine left oil on the track. A clean-up operation and quick restart procedure was engaged shortly after and the race was reduced to a 10-lap dash.

A disappointing restart saw Guintoli fighting from fifth place on the opening lap, with the newly-crowned Champion Jonathan Rea dropping him to sixth a few corners later as his pace on new rubber failed to match that of his earlier effort. Regrouping, the Frenchman continued his charge, launching to fourth after as many laps and hunting for the trio ahead. With time in the sprint race quickly running out, he was ultimately unable to bridge the gap needed to remount the podium. Consolidating fourth at the flag to round out his most successful weekend of the season, Guintoli finishes 11th in the WorldSBK Championship on 141 points, having completed 15 of the 26 races.

Caught out by an uncharacteristically bad start, Lowes found himself trapped in the first turn mix as the race began, coming together in a three-rider clash and running far off the circuit. Managing to remain on his YZF-R1 and return to the action, the British rider found himself at the back of the pack, in 24th, and with a mountain to climb as the race unfolded. Pushing himself and his Yamaha he regained five places before the red flag came out, sitting him 19th on the grid for the second attempt.

Renewed by the restart, Lowes jumped four positions as the condensed contest began, continuing to climb a further three places in the next revolution before settling into a rhythm and catching the main group. Promoting himself to 11th on lap seven, Lowes had the top-10 firmly in his sights, achieving the move on the final lap to take a well-earned six points, bringing his total to 131 and sitting him 12th in the final standings.

2016 may have drawn to a close but there is little time to reflect as the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team returns to Europe. Preparations are already underway for the closely-following 2017 season with two winter tests planned for the coming-weeks ahead of the season opener at Australia’s Phillip Island in mid-February.

The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team would like to thank Sylvain for his hard work, dedication and professionalism in assisting the development of the YZF-R1 throughout its returning year to the WorldSBK Championship. This weekend has provided the perfect reward for these efforts and everyone at Crescent and Yamaha wish him all the best in his future racing career.

Sylvain Guintoli

Race: 4th / +8.493 / 10 laps. Championship: 11th / 141 points

“It was a shame about the red flag that’s for sure, because, even more so today we had a very strong pace on used tyres but were lacking the outright pace with the new tyres. For the first race, it was a perfect race for me, a perfect start and a perfect first-half anyway. I had a really good start and didn’t lose too much in the opening laps, managed to hang in there and then when the red flag came out, it was on two or three laps where I had been catching Tom and pulling away quite a lot from fourth, so it looked and I felt really good.

“In the restart I tried to fight as much as I could but our pace with new tyres just wasn’t strong enough. It’s a shame, it would have been a podium without the red flag but we’ve finished on the strongest performances of the year and I feel like I’m ready to fight another day.”

Alex Lowes

Race: 10th / +14.414 / 10 laps. Championship: 12th / 131 points

“A disappointing weekend for me in terms of results, but honestly it pretty much sums up my year. I had a problem with the starts which meant that I got away slow, normally on this bike it has been a strong point for me this year, so that in itself was disappointing. Because I didn’t get a good start, I was in turn one with van der Mark on the inside and Savadori on the outside and I literally had nowhere to go, we all came together and I ran off track. It’s a racing incident, one of those things, and obviously I got lucky with the race being red flagged.

“In the restart, to come from the back of the grid to 10th place in 10 laps was quite good, it’s the best pace I’ve had all weekend, very similar to Sylvain and after yesterday that’s really positive because obviously he outperformed me then, so to close that gap right up today is good. It’s been a disappointing year as a whole but the team have worked really hard, it’s really nice for them to get their first podium and although my results weren’t great I think I rode well this weekend – I’ve not made any mistakes and I’ve brought the bike home as best as I could. It is what it is, I feel fit and healthy, the best I’ve felt all year so I’m looking forward to winter testing and upping my game next year!”

Paul Denning ? Team Principal

“At some stages the comeback season in WorldSBK for Yamaha has been very challenging so it’s quite strange to feel disappointed with a fourth place finish in the final race of the year! Sylvain’s track position and pace when the race was stopped would have seen him finish, at worst, on the podium again in third, but more likely in second position – but we can’t really complain. It was another strong performance after the restart and overall a superb weekend for Sylvain. Thanks to him and his crew for their effort and commitment.

“On paper for Alex, today doesn’t look so positive, but having had an extremely near-crash in the first corner melee in the first part of the race, in which he was lucky to stay on two wheels, and starting in 19th on the restart, within the short space of just 10 laps he forced his way up into the top-10 and far more importantly he had a much better pace than yesterday and was able to ride with more speed and more confidence.

“Thanks to everyone at Yamaha, all the team’s partners, and to all the team members for their efforts this season. 2017 starts in a couple of weeks with our tests in Spain and we can’t wait to get to work.”

More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

Chaz Davies and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team finish the 2016 WorldSBK championship with another double in Qatar. A shoulder injury stops Davide Giugliano

After winning Race 1 in a dominant fashion, Chaz Davies did the double under the floodlights in Qatar, home of the last round of the 2016 WorldSBK championship. The Welshman’s sixth consecutive race win and eleventh overall crowned him as the most successful rider of the year. To further highlight his form, Davies also finished the season with the highest number of fastest laps (10).

Second at the start, Davies took the lead in lap 1 to progressively pull away from his rivals, led by Sykes. During lap 8, the race was red-flagged due to oil on track, resetting the gap. At the restart, Davies imposed his pace once again and neutralized Rea’s comeback before the 2016 champion ceded second position in both the race and the championship to his teammate Sykes.

After regularly taking part to the WUP session, finished in 14th position, Davide Giugliano was declared unfit for the race due to the worsening conditions of his injured right shoulder, which was further damaged by a contact during Race 1.

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) 1st

“To do the double here, a circuit where we struggled last year, is a sign of how much we turned things around. In the first half of the race I was just managing the gap, but after the restart it was a fast, short race. It was difficult to see the pit-board and I wasn’t looking at the big screens, so I didn’t really know how to manage the race, but then I saw Rea was coming back so I pushed a bit more in the last laps and did all I could to bring home the win. It’s bittersweet, because it wasn’t enough to secure second place in the championship, but I saw that coming. We’ve been the fastest out there since the summer break, and we’ll try to keep improving everyday, take it into next year and be as consistent as possible to get the big trophy in the end. Thanks everyone for all the support!”

Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #34)

“As my shoulder was still healing, I knew that any kind of blow could intensify the pain, but I still wanted to try to finish the season on a high note. Unfortunately, the contact in Race 1 strained the tendons and aggravated the situation. There couldn’t have been a sadder way to say goodbye to the team and Ducati, but I carry many beautiful memories within me. I think that both me as a rider and the bike grew a lot together in all these years. I learned many lessons, and it’s been an intense journey because I believe that having me as a rider elicits a lot of emotions, for better and for worse. I want to give my special thanks to my crew, as they always worked until late night to give me the best tools to race. Also thanks to the whole team and Ducati, which have always made me feel appreciated and worked so hard. I wish them all the best!”

Stefano Cecconi, Aruba S.p.A CEO and Team Principal

“It’s a bit disappointing to finish the year like this, as Chaz took third place in the championship despite being the most successful rider out there, but we certainly can’t complain. This season rewarded us in many ways, and we’re certainly ready to fight for the big prize next year. We’re sorry for Davide, who paid a dear price for the injury he sustained in Germany and couldn’t finish with a result worthy of potential. We wish him all the best.”

More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:

LEON CAMIER GOT THE 8° PLACE IN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING AFTER RACE2 AT LOSAIL 

Yesterday went on stage the last act of the 2016 season MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, a season in which the team MV Agusta Reparto Corse and Leon Camier collect the 8th position in Championship Standings with 168 points.

When the lights go off in Race2, Leon Camier jumped very well from the start, rising quickly in 6th position into the leading group. Unfortunately, the Losail International Circuit is definitely not the best track for the characteristics of the MV Agusta F4 RC and the fast British rider is forced to lose some positions in the following laps, until the race is red flagged at 10 laps from the end, due to the presence of oil on track. The new start sees Camier make a little mistake that cost him a few positions, but the talented British rider still manages to finish in the score-points zone, in 13th position.

Thanks also to the 3 points earned yesterday in Qatar, Leon Camier placed 8th in the overall standings of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship.

In the winter break Camier and his team will work hard to be ready for the new WorldSBK season, which will start in February 2017 in Phillip Island, Australia.

Leon Camier #2 WorldSBK – I made a little mistake on the start and I pushed hard to try to keep close to the guys in front, but I pushed too hard in the first corners and I did a little mistake, losing some positions. This is a little bit frustrating but I am really happy to be in 9th position in the Championship. A big thanks to all my squad and MV Agusta, I think we did a really good job this season.