Superbike
Tom Sykes made a clean sweep of the Superbike World Championship races at Donington Park.
It's been another weekend of pure green domination: Tom Sykes won both races of the World Superbikes at the legendary Donington Park track and crossed the line both times in front of his Kawasaki factory team mate.
And that's not all, David Salom made the ZX-10R the all-conquering bike of the weekend, taking both EVO-class wins. Sykes now leads the championship and heads to the next round at Sepang brimming with confidence.
The British Weather
The British weather didn't play its usual dramatic role at Donington Park: both Friday and Sunday were held in dry conditions and bright sunshine. At least Saturday lived up to the stereotype when it was almost washed out due to heavy rain.
Davide Giugliano fought the wet track in textbook fashion, taking his second Tissot Superpole of his career after Moscow last year – dedicating his first pole of the season for Ducati to the late Andrea Antonelli.
Sykes plays it cool
World Champion Tom Sykes was a picture of tranquillity while battles raged around him. In both races the English rider watched the battle unfold in front of him – by midway of both encounters no one would have bet a single penny on him to win in fact. But in both heats he kept his best to last, fought back late on and ultimately only had to face off challenges from his team-mate before taking the wins.
Best of the rest
Reigning British Superbike Champion Alex Lowes took the glory of the final podium spot during the first race – only to crash into Marco Melandri in the opening laps of the second one. Lowes climbed back to score a strong ninth place finish, while Melandri had to settle for 17th.
Melandri's Aprilia Factory team-mate Sylvain Guintoli took third place in the second race, pushing the Kawasakis all the way.
What they said
Loris Baz: "Race two was really good for us, we had good pace at the beginning and I could stay with Sylvain. At the end Tom was too strong in the last part of the track. I came a bit closer in the first part, but would have risked too much to get him."
Tom Sykes: "I wouldn't say it was too comfortable today. It was much more work in the races. A couple of riders causing incidents with their moves made me decide to make my life easier a bit for myself in the beginnings. Donington Park is really special when the sun is shining – and with two wins!"
World Supersport: Second win of the season for Van der Mark
Michael van der Mark took his second World Supersport win of the season in a race, that was only decided on the last lap between the Dutchman and French rival Jules Cluzel.
Michael van der Mark: "It's incredible! We've been quick all weekend – in the dry on Friday, my first pole in the wet on Saturday and today. My start wasn't too good and it took a while to find a pace. The last laps were really entertaining, to fight it out with Jules. I had to risk everything in the last corners."
Kawasaki rider and former World ChampionKenan Sofuoglu again seemed to suffer from a technical problem but came home in fourth, behind van der Mark, Cluzel and Kev Coghlan. It's only been the second time this year the Turk made it into the points.
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