Battle between riders of Kawasaki Racing Team
Chang International Circuit (Thailand) - March 12th and 13th. Clash of the Teammates: Race 1. Rea just beats teammate Sykes over the line in tense Thai clash. Race 2: Sykes Fights Back.Three-way battle sees the number 66 triumph over teammate Rea. Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes has taken an incredible victory in a three-way fight for the win at Chang International Circuit in Thailand.
After an incredible start from both Kawasaki riders from P2 and P3, the first drama came when Honda rider Michael van der Mark and Ducati’s Chaz Davies made contact on the first lap as they tousled for position, before van der Mark led them off to chase the Kawasaki Racing Team pair of Sykes and Rea. Davies then pounced on van der Mark, with the Honda rider struggling in some corners, and the Welsh Ducati rider was able to close the gap to Sykes and Rea, joining the three-way battle that rolled all the way to the line, with some incredibly close racing seeing the three riders leave nothing on the track. It was Sykes who came out on top, crossing the line just ahead of his teammate Rea, with Davies slotting into third after an incredibly tense last lap.
Van der Mark crossed the line in fourth to see himself off the podium for the first time in 2016, with the Dutchman going on an incredible run at the start of the year. After a mechanical problem in Race 1 saw his Honda teammate Nicky Hayden retire, the number 69 Honda crossed the line in Race 2 in 5th to keep both the Fireblades in the top 5.
Sylvain Guintoli brought the new YZF R1 home in seventh for another good result on the Japanese manufacturer’s return to WorldSBK, ahead of the Althea BMW pair of Markus Reiterberger and Jordi Torres. Rookie Lorenzo Savadori brought Aprilia home in the top ten once again in P9, with that top ten completed by Ducati rider Davide Giugliano, who missed the Round through injury in 2015 and had
a difficult second race at Chang International Circuit.
After seeing his teammate Rea dominate much of the 2015 season, the first strike in the fight back for Tom Sykes has landed in Thailand in Race 2, with the next chance for the reigning Champion to take back the win coming at MotorLand Aragon, the scene of the Davies’ first Ducati win last season.
Thai Round, Superbike - Results Race 1
1 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R
2 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R
3 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR
4 7 C. DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati 1199 Panigale
5 21 M. REITERBERGER GER Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S1000 RR 20
6 22 A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1
7 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1
8 81 J. TORRES ESP Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S1000 RR 20
9 15 A. DE ANGELIS RSM IodaRacing Team Aprilia RSV4 RF
10 32 L. SAVADORI ITA IodaRacing Team Aprilia RSV4 RF
Thai Round, Superbike - Results Race 2
1 6 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 20
2 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 20
3 7 C. DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati 1199 Panigale R 20
4 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR SP 20
5 69 N. HAYDEN USA Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR SP 20
6 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1
7 21 M. REITERBERGER GER Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S1000 RR 20
8 81 J. TORRES ESP Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S1000 RR 20
9 32 L. SAVADORI ITA IodaRacing Team Aprilia RSV4 RF 20
10 34 D. GIUGLIANO ITA Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati 1199 Panigale R 20
Thai Round, Superbike - Championship Standings
01 REA
02 SYKES
03 VAN DER MARK
04 DAVIES
05 GUINTOLI
06 GIUGLIANO
07 TORRES
08 HAYDEN
09 REITERBERGER
10 CAMIER
