Eugene Laverty reeled in Tom Sykes to take both WSBK race wins at Istanbul Park.

Aprilia Racing Team’s Eugene Laverty has weighed back into World Superbike Championship (WSBK) title contention with a sensational double win at Istanbul Park in Turkey.

The RSV4 factory rider got away to a strong start in the opening 18-lap race, and bided his time before making a decisive move on Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes for the lead on lap 13.

Laverty edged away over the closing stages, greeting the chequered flag with a 2.009-second advantage over BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK’s Marco Melandri who found his way past Sykes for second.

Sylvain Guintoli carted a solid fourth for the opening race, with Althea Racing Team Aprilia’s Davide Giugliano running fifth ahead of Red Devils Roma Aprilia rider Toni Elias as the pair scrapped desperately for position in the final corner.

Chas Davies brought the second GoldBet BMW home in a lonely eighth placing, with Leon Haslam and Michel Fabrizio also locked together as they brought their factory Fireblades home to complete the top 10.

Aussie Mark Aitchison joined Ayrton Badovini on the sidelines with a technical problem.

Laverty completed the double win – just the second of his career – by heading home Sykes in the second Superbike race of the day.

The Irishman again started behind Sykes, but was able to make a move by his rival on the 12th lap.

Laverty held his edge for a 1.708-second win from Sykes, with factory Aprilia’s Guintoli rounding out the race podium.

Melandri scored solid points in fourth, with Elias going one better to complete an impressive WSBK debut weekend in fifth.

Davies was sixth from FIXI Crescent Suzuki’s Jules Cluzel, Haslam, Giugliano and Fabrizio. Aussie Aitchison bounced back from his earlier disappointment to finish a solid 11th on the Pedercini Kawasaki.

There were no Ducati machines on the grid for race two, a first-time occurrence in the history of World Superbikes.

Home favourite, Mahi Racing Team India’s Kenan Sofuoglu emerged victorious in a thrilling two-way battle with Yakhnich Motorsport’s Sam Lowes in the World Supersport class.

The primary contenders for the WSS crown traded places on a number of occasions throughout the race, with Kawasaki-mounted Sofuoglu prevailing by a 0.04-second margin over his Yamaha rival.

Honda rider Michael van der Mark took the final podium placing, some nine seconds off the leaders, while Lorenzo Zanetti took fourth from Roberto Rolfo in fifth.

Aussie Damian Cudlin had a difficult showing and didn’t manage to finish the race in his guest role with PTR Honda.

With two rounds to run, Lowes has built a 49-point lead over Sofuoglu, only needing a single additional point buffer by the penultimate round to wrap up the title.

World Superbike Championship
Round 11 – Istanbul Park, Turkey

Superbike race one:
1. Eugene Laverty
2. Marco Melandri
3. Tom Sykes
4. Sylvain Guintoli
5. Davide Giugliano
6. Toni Elias
7. Jules Cluzel
8. Chaz Davies
9. Leon Haslam
10. Michel Fabrizio
11. Federico Sandi
12. Vittorio Iannuzzo
13. Tolga Uprak
14. Yunus Ercelik
DNF. Mark Aitchison (AUS)

Superbike race two:
1. Eugene Laverty
2. Tom Sykes
3. Sylvain Guintoli
4. Marco Melandri
5. Toni Elias
6. Chaz Davies
7. Jules Cluzel
8. Leon Haslam
9. Davide Giugliano
10. Michel Fabrizio
11. Mark Aitchison
12. Federico Sandi
13. Vittorio Iannuzzo
14. Tolga Uprak
15. Yunus Ercelik

Superbike championship standings (after 11 of 14 rounds):
1. Tom Sykes 323
2. Sylvain Guintoli 315
3. Eugene Laverty 297
4. Marco Melandri 290
5. Chaz Davies 239
6. Loris Baz 180
7. Jonathan Rea 176
8. Michel Fabrizio 168
9. Jules Cluzel 141
10. Davide Giugliano 139
11. Leon Camier 114
12. Ayrton Badovini 107
13. Max Neukirchner 84
14. Carlos Checa 80
15. Leon Haslam 78
16. Federico Sandi 45
17. Vittorio Iannuzzo 25
18. Toni Elias 21
19. Mark Aitchison 20
20. Ivan Clementi 18

Supersport race:
1. Kenan Sofuoglu
2. Sam Lowes
3. Michael Vd Mark
4. Lorenzo Zanetti
5. Roberto Rolfo
6. Roberto Tamburini
7. Kev Coghlan
8. David Salom
9. Jack Kennedy
10. Ronan Quarmby
11. Luca Scassa
12. Alex Baldolini
13. Raffaele De Rosa
14. Massimo Roccoli
15. Vladimir Leonov
16. Fabio Menghi
17. Mathew Scholtz
18. Danny Webb
19. Florian Marino
20. Luca Marconi

Supersport championship standings (after 10 of 13 rounds):
1. Sam Lowes 205
2. Kenan Sofuoglu 156
3. Fabien Foret 121
4. Michael Vd Mark 107
5. Lorenzo Zanetti 99
6. Luca Scassa 74
7. Jack Kennedy 71
8. Roberto Rolfo 62
9. Kev Coghlan 60
10. Andrea Antonelli 55
11. Florian Marino 53
12. Vladimir Leonov 9
13. Riccardo Russo 38
14. Sheridan Morais 36
15. Christian Iddon 29
16. Alex Baldolini 28
17. David Salom 27
18. Roberto Tamburini 27
19. Raffaele De Rosa 21
20. Massimo Roccoli 20
24. Glen Richards (AUS) 6

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