News 29 May 2017

Rea rebounds on Sunday in WorldSBK at Donington Park

Defending world champion clinches Kawasaki's 100th race win.

Source: Supplied.

Kawasaki Racing Team’s reigning Superbike world champion Jonathan Rea took victory in Sunday’s second WorldSBK race at Donington Park after crashing out on Saturday.

Rea led factory Kawasaki colleague Tom Sykes – winner of the opening affair – and Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s Chaz Davies also on the podium.

His eighth victory of 2017 extends Rea’s lead in the standings to 55 points after six rounds and he rode brilliantly at the Donington Park to beat his teammate to the line by 1.601s and win his home race.

The result brought an end to Sykes’ remarkable run of nine successive wins at Donington and the Yorkshireman was amongst the first to congratulate Rea on his triumph. It was also Kawasaki’s 100th race win in WorldSBK.

In parc ferme after the race Rea dedicated his win to the late Nicky Hayden, who so sadly passed away earlier in the week after a cycling accident in Italy.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) had looked good for a podium result but was caught for third in the final stages by a determined Davies – who had crashed and finished eighth on Saturday.

Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) completed the top five and Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) made it five Britons in the top six, crossing the line five seconds behind Lowes.

Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) was seventh and he was joined in the top ten by Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven), Jake Dixon (Royal Air Force Reg. & Res. Kawasaki) and Raffaele de Rosa (Althea BMW Racing Team).

Only 14 participants were able to finish the race as a number of high profile riders crashed out, including wildcard Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) after he took a podium the day prior.

Meanwhile, Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) stopped on the eighth lap after the chain of his Ducati Panigale R broke and fell loose.

Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) made another big statement of intent in the 2017 WorldSSP championship fight on Sunday, taking a third win in three races ahead of Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) and Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda).

Queenslander Anthony West (EAB West Racing Yamaha) capped off his scheduled Supersport appearances with a seventh-place result, as countrymen Lachlan Epis (Response RE Racing Kawasaki) and Giuseppe Scarcella (Team Lorini Honda) collected 23rd and 27th places respectively.

In WorldSSP300, Alfonso Coppola (SK Racing) took his debut victory from pole position ahead of Mika Perez (WILSport Racedays) and Marc Garcia (Halcourier Racing). World championship leader Scott Deroue (MTM HS Kawasaki) was fourth.

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Toprak Razgatlioglu took victory in the Superstock 1000 race, crossing the line ahead of fellow podium finishers Florian Marino (Pata Yamaha Official STK1000 Team) and Maximillian Scheib (Nuova M2 Racing).

Australian Mike Jones (Aruba.it Racing Junior Team) recorded a 10th-place result, while Glenn Scott (Agro On-Benjan Kawasaki) brought his ZX-10R home in 16th position for the round.

The WorldSBK grid will be back in action at the Pirelli Riviera Di Rimini Round at Misano over the 16-18 June weekend.

Recent