Photography by Gold & Goose
Tom Sykes had things well in control in World Superbike Race One at Motorland Aragón. Sykes nailed a great start on his factory Kawasaki, took the early lead and pulled away to a 4.275-second victory over his teammate Loris Baz.
Jonathan Rea put Honda on the podium in third after he and David Giugliano made contact on the final lap resulting in Giugliano hitting the ground. Giugliano was able to remount his Ducati and finish eighth.
Other factory Ducati rider Chaz Davies was fourth ahead of Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team), and Toni Elias (Red Devils Aprilia).
Twelfth place Leon Camier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike) was the winner in the EVO Category after a thrilling 17-lap race left the crowd enthralled in the Spanish sun, just ahead of local rider and other EVO entrant David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Guintoli still leads the standings, but he is now tied up in points with Baz. With the victory reigning champion Sykes moved up and is now just one point shy of the French duo.
It was a tough outing for the American EBR riders. Geoff May crashed out early, while Aaron Yates rode to 17th.
The victory was the 15th-career World superbike victory for Sykes.
“The race was quite early (10:30 am local time), so tire choice was quite crucial,” Sykes said. “It looked like we made the right decision. I had a good start. The ZX-10 was working well and I was able to get me head down fairly early on. Luckily I had a bit of a gap and was able to manage. The early laps the guys were keeping me honest, but I was able to eek out a gap and manage it quite well. Race two is going to be a different story – different temperature. I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully we can have the same again.”
Motorland Aragon – Race One results
1. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 17 laps
2. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +4.275s
3. Jonathan Rea GBR PATA Honda CBR1000RR +8.418s
4. Chaz Davies GBR Ducati SBK 1199 Panigale R +15.715s
5. Eugene Laverty IRL Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +19.305s
6. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +21.998s
7. Toni Elias ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 +24.018s
8. Davide Giugliano ITA Ducati SBK 1199 Panigale R +27.984s
9. Leon Haslam GBR PATA Honda CBR1000RR +29.077s
10. Alex Lowes GBR Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +29.863s
11. Marco Melandri ITA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +34.820s
12. Leon Camier GBR BMW Italia S1000RR +35.255s (E)
13. David Salom ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +43.975s (E)
14. Jeremy Guarnoni FRA MRS Kawasaki ZX-10R +46.721s (E)
15. Sheridan Morais RSA IRON BRAIN Kawasaki ZX-10R +56.619s (E)
16. Luca Scassa ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1m 16.469s (E)
17. Aaron Yates USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX +1m 35.047s
18. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR +1m 48.427s
19. Alessandro Andreozzi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1m 51.222s (E)
20. Peter Sebestyen HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR +2m 01.152s (E)
NC
Michel Fabrizio ITA IRON BRAIN Kawasaki ZX-10R 9 laps completed (E)
Niccolo Canepa ITA Althea Ducati 1199 Panigale R 4 laps completed (E)
Geoff May USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX 3 laps completed
Claudio Corti ITA MV Agusta RC F3RR 2 laps completed
Fabien Foret FRA MAHI Kawasaki ZX-10R 0 laps completed (E)
Subject to homologation
13. Ayrton Badovini ITA Bimota Alstare BB3 (E)
17. Christian Iddon GBR Bimota Alstare BB3 (E)
