Source: World Superbike Championship

Defending World Superbike Champion Tom Sykes has claimed a stellar double win in Spain to assume the points lead in an ultra successful Aragon weekend for the Kawasaki brand.

From pole position Sykes was never headed in the 17-lap opener, able to build a comfortable advantage as riders diced behind him for the minor podium placings.

The British rider won race one from teammate Loris Baz, with Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea lucky to escape a clash with Ducati’s Davide Giugliano to take third.

Chaz Davies cleaned up the pieces for Ducati, with Eugene Laverty a strong fifth aboard the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki.

Race two saw Baz keep Sykes in check, and in the latter stages, ranging up on him in preparation for a pass.

Hasty progress from Aprilia’s Marco Melandri would bring him into the mix, with a three-way battle to the flag a test of skill and willing.

Melandri passed Baz and put a late move on Sykes on the final lap, but would find himself running wide of the mark and eventually settling for third, confirming two consecutive 1-2 finishes for the Kawasaki teammates.

Sylvain Guintoli came home fourth aboard the second Aprilia, surrendering two places in the championship, with Rea solid again in fifth.

The EVO sub-class battle produced exceptionally close racing, with Leon Camier leading the way for BMW Motorrad Italia in race one and David Salom showing the way for Kawasaki in race two.

Both race featured five retirements, with race two the most significant as Chaz Davies and Alex Lowes were taken out of contention in their own high-speed crashes.

Kenan Sofuoglu overcame a tough start to the weekend to chance a win in the World Supersport class, the major benefactor of a dramatic crash between Jules Cluzel and Kev Coghlan.

The leading riders set a hot pace early, with MV Agusta RC – Yakhnnich Motorsport’s Cluzel dipping below the existing race lap record.

But the Australian race winner made a costly error in an attempt to pass the DMC Panavto-Yamaha of Coghlan, clipping the British rider’s back wheel and sending both to the ground.

Pata Honda’s Michael van der Mark slipped through for an eventual second, while Florian Marino rounded out the podium aboard the Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres machine.

Despite the incident, Coghlan was able to remount and finish eighth, maintaining a slender two-point lead in the title race over Marino.

Barni Racing Team rider Leandro Mercado took out the first Superstock 1000 bout of the year, a comfortable winner over the 13-lap duration ahead of Lorenzo Savadori for Pedercini Kawasaki and Kyle Smith for Agro-On Racedays Honda.

The championship continues at Assen on 25-27 April.

2014 Superbike World Championship

Round two – Aragon, Spain

Superbike race one results:
1. Tom SYKES
2. Loris BAZ +4.275
3. Jonathan REA +8.418
4. Chaz DAVIES +15.715
5. Eugene LAVERTY +19.305
6. Sylvain GUINTOLI +21.998
7. Toni ELIAS +24.018
8. Davide GIUGLIANO +27.894
9. Leon HASLAM +29.077
10. Alex LOWES +29.863

Superbike race two results:
1. Tom SYKES
2. Loris BAZ +0.338
3. Marco MELANDRI +0.470
4. Sylvain GUINTOLI +5.429
5. Jonathan REA +8.861
6. Eugene LAVERTY +15.986
7. Davide GIUGLIANO +18.206
8. Leon HASLAM +25.513
9. Toni ELIAS +25.823
10. David SALOM +38.949

Superbike championship standings (after round 2 of 15):
1. Tom SYKES 75
2. Loris BAZ 71
3. Sylvain GUINTOLI 64
4. Marco MELANDRI 49
5. Jonathan REA 48
6. Eugene LAVERTY 46
7. Davide GIUGLIANO 43
8. Chaz DAVIES 30
9. Leon HASLAM 25
10. Toni ELIAS 23

Supersport race results:
1. Kenan SOFUOGLU
2. Michael van derk MARK +0.869
3. Florian MARINO +9.091
4. Lorenzo ZANETTI +10.475
5. Kevin COGHLAN +15.194
6. Raffaele DE ROSA +18.579
7. Roberto TAMBURINI +19.059
8. Vladimir LEONOV +19.666
9. Christian GAMARINO I+19.846
10. Ratthapark WILAIROT +20.077

Supersport championship standings (after round 2 of 15):
1. Kevin COGHLAN 31
2. Florian MARINO 29
3. Raffaele DE ROSA 26
4. Kenan SOFUOGLU 25
5. Jules CLUZEL 25
6. Michaek Van der MARK 20
7. Roberto TAMBURINI 20
8. Lorenzo ZANETTI 13
9. Christian GAMARINO 13
10. Kevin WAHR 10

Click here for detailed results