Source: Supplied.

Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Chaz Davies won race one at the Pirelli German Round with a 10.5 second lead in a flawless performance.

Davies beat Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes into second, ahead of Honda World Superbike Team’s Nicky Hayden, completing the top three.

Davies led from pole into the first corner, before charging ahead to create a gap to his nearest rival Sykes. By lap five he was three seconds ahead with Sykes, teammate Jonathan Rea and Lorenzo Savadori (IodaRacing Team) fighting for second position.

Drama struck early when reigning champion Rea crashed out on lap eight. The Northern Irishman walked away uninjured, but furious after a tough weekend so far.

Rea’s retirement means the gap in the overall standings stands with only 26 points separating him from championship rival and teammate Sykes.

Friday’s fastest Lorenzo Savadori crashed out of podium contention just after Rea, and local hero Althea BMW’s Markus Reiterberger was forced to retire early on lap nine due to technical problems. With Rea and Savadori out, Hayden was able to focus on chasing down Sykes but couldn’t catch him and had to settle for third.

Davies crossed the finish line 10.5 seconds ahead of Sykes. The dominant win making him the third rider in WorldSBK history to win with three different manufacturers in the same country.

Althea BMW Racing Team’s Jordi Torres came home in fourth after battling with Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Michael van der Mark (Honda World Superbike Team) for the finish. After battling it out for some laps, Camier and van der Mark finally finished in fifth and sixth place.

Davies’ teammate Davide Giugliano finished in seventh position ahead of Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Alex Lowes, who came home in eighth after starting from P12 on the grid after crashing out in the morning’s warm up and sitting out Tissot-Superpole 2.

Lowes’ teammate Sylvain Guintoli gave a solid performance in his first race back from injury, leading Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) and Anthony West (Pedercini Racing) home to ninth position.

Alex De Angelis brought his Aprilia home in P12 ahead of Roman Ramos on Team GOELEVEN in P13. Australian Josh Brookes (Milwaukee BMW) and Luca Scassa (VFT Racing) rounded out the top 15.

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s Kenan Sofuoglu showed strong form on Saturday in Supersport, dominating the entire Tissot-Superpole 2 session to start from pole position in Sunday’s race.

Sofuoglu improved his combined time of yesterday by two tenths. Finnish wildcard Niki Tuuli impressed by securing a first row start in second position. GRT Racing’s Gino Rea came home in third to lock out the front row of the grid.