Davies makes it a double for Ducati at Jerez

WorldSBK race two: Unstoppable Ducati and the duelling Kawasakis

Welshman, Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), scored his fourth double of the season at Jerez in southern Spain, streaking away to win race two almost six seconds ahead of fellow podium finishers and Kawasaki Racing Team duo Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes.

The Davies domination also prevented foe, Rea, from sealing another WorldSBK title victory with the North Irishman to continue his charge in Qatar in two weeks.

Welshman Davies had an incredible start storming straight through to fourth by the first corner, but it was Sykes who led with Rea close behind in second. By the end of the first lap, the Ducati rider had already shot to the front and began to build his lead.

The Kawasakis then battled it out for the remainder of the race together, with Rea trying to hunt down his second world title. The lead swapped and changed between the championship contenders but the reigning world champion couldn’t shake off Sykes to take the crown, which he still leads by 48 points.

By the end of the race, fourth-placed Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) had caught up to the KRT duo to fight it out for the podium, but he narrowly missed out as Sykes took third behind his teammate Rea in second. As a result, the 2016 championship could not be won at the Jerez and the Northern Irishman will need to wait until the last round at Qatar as he works to add another title to his belt.

Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) had a solid ride in Race 2, improving from Saturday to come home in fifth ahead of Honda World Superbike Team’s Michael van der Mark in sixth, who celebrated his 50th WorldSBK race start.

Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) finished in seventh ahead of Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) who was the first Spaniard home in eighth. Torres battled with fellow Spaniard Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) earlier on in the race to break into the top ten. Unfortunately for Fores, his race ended early after technical issues forced him to retire.

Anthony West (Pedercini Racing) ended Sunday in ninth while Lorenzo Savadori (Ioda Racing Team) rounded out the top ten. Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN) came home in P11 with Josh Brookes (Milwaukee BMW) crossing the line in P12.

Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished in P13, which was a solid effort considering he struggled with his recovering shoulder throughout the weekend. Althea BMW Racing Team’s Markus Reiterberger finished in P14 with Gianluca Vizziello (Grillini Racing Team) picking up a point in P15.

The 2016 MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship will now be decided in the final round of the season at Qatar on the 28th to the 30th of October, with Jonathan Rea leading the charge to the 2016 crown. Many of the teams will remain in Jerez Monday for a one day test before machinery is shipped to the UAE.

Race two results
1. Chaz Davies – Ducati
2. Jonathan Rea- Kawasaki
3. Tom Sykes – Kawasaki

…Australians

Anthony West  – 9th
Josh Brookes – 12th

Championship point score after 12 rounds:
1. Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki 462 points
2. Tom Sykes – Kawasaki 414 points
3. Chaz Davies – Ducati 395 points

WorldSBK race one: Chaz wins WorldSBK race one by over three seconds

Race 1 at the Gaerne Spanish Round saw Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) decimate the field by over three seconds, while a podium for the Kawasaki Racing Team duo was enough for the Japanese marque to secure the Manufacturers Award.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) led into the first corner from P2 on the grid, with teammate Tom Sykes and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) close behind. However it wasn’t long until Davies moved in on Lowes to begin his hunt for the win.

Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) didn’t get an ideal start after a wheelie off the line slowed him considerably, however he made up for it by setting a fastest time on lap three as he worked his way up into the top five.

The early laps saw many riders end their races with the first victims of the Circuito de Jerez being Luca Scassa (VFT Racing) and Saeed Al Sulaiti (Pedercini Racing) on the opening lap.

Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) and Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) were next when they both crashed out at turn 1 on lap two. On the next lap Lowes crashed out at turn 5, before Ant West (Pedercini Racing) slid out but the Australian was able to rejoin at the next corner.

Once Davies got in front it was impossible for the Kawasakis to match his pace. Sykes, who finished second, gained important championship points to help close in on his title leading teammate Jonathan Rea, who finished third.

Hayden worked his way up to finish in fourth ahead of his teammate Michael van der Mark who rounded out the top five. Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) finished in sixth with MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider Leon Camier taking seventh.

The first Spaniard home was Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) who finished in eighth ahead of his teammate Markus Reiterberger in ninth.

Further down the order it was a four-way fight to place in the top 10 involving Josh Brookes (Milwaukee BMW), Alex De Angelis (Ioda Racing Team) Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN) and Lorenzo Savadori (IodaRacing).

Eventually, Brookes won the battle to finish in tenth with De Angelis in P11, Ramos in P12 and Savadori in P13. Ant West came home in P14 while Peter Sebestyen (Team Toth) picked up his first point of the season in P15.

WorldSBK Race One results
1. Chaz Davies – Ducati
2. Tom Sykes – Kawasaki
3. Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki

…Australians
Josh Brookes – 10th
Anthony West – 14th 

2016 WorldSBK Manufacturer’s Championship won by Kawasaki

WorldSSP:  Sofuoglu Takes WorldSSP Title Number Five at Jerez

Turkish hero, Kenan Sofuoglu, won the WorldSSP race at Jerez and was crowned the 2016 FIM Supersport World Champion just five laps into Sunday’sbattle at Jerez, after his Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Teammate Randy Krummenacher crashed out of contention for the title.

Thirty-two year old Sofuoglu is the only rider in history to win the WorldSSP Championship five times, with back-to-back titles over the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and earlier title victories in 2007, 2010 and 2012. His fifth title win makes him the most successful WorldSSP rider in history.

Sofuoglu had to fight hard for the victory as Kallio Racing Team’s Niki Tuuli and CIA Landlord Insurance Honda’s Kyle Smith tried everything they could to beat the Kawasaki Rider at his own game. But experience won out and the duo were unable to match his incredible pace.

Tuuli finished second, Smith came home in third and Honda World Supersport Racing Team’s PJ Jacobsen finished in fourth after catching the podium finishers in the final laps.

Sofuoglu had the holeshot and led from the first corner, focused only on winning his fifth title. Krummenacher who was running in second, attacked at every opportunity to get in front of Sofuoglu.

The first few laps saw the lead switch between the two Kawasakis before Krummenacher became undone at turn one and slid out on lap five. He wasn’t able to continue and officially retired from the race on lap nine, with Sofuoglu automatically being declared champion of WorldSSP.

Further down the order FIM Europe Supersport Cup leader Axel Bassani (San Carlo Team Italia) had a good start and was fighting for sixth position with Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Ayrton Badovini (GEMAR Balloons – Team Lorini).

The young Italian was able to hold off his world supersport challengers and was able to finish in fifth, after Federico Caricasulo (BARDHAL Evan Bros. Honda Racing) crashed out in the final laps. By being the first ESS rider home, Bassani won the FIM Europe Supersport Cup.

Cluzel finished in sixth ahead of second-placed ESS rider Illia Mykhalchyk (DS Junior Team), with Badovini coming home in eighth. Christoffer Bergman (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) finished in ninth with Lorenzo Zannetti (GRT Racing) rounding out the top ten.

Third-placed ESS rider to finish was Alessandro Zaccone (San Carlo Team Italia) who placed 11^th in the race overall, ahead of Xavier Pinsach (GEMAR Balloons –Team Lorini) in 12th. Hikari Okubo (CIA Landlord insurance Honda) finished in P13 with Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing) in 14^th and Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) picking up a point in P15.

Thanks to Sofuoglu’s win, Kawasaki were named Manufacturers’ Champions of the WorldSSP category, joining their WorldSBK counterparts who won the award on Saturday at Jerez.

Though the championship has been decided, WorldSSP isn’t over just yet. The field now heads to Qatar for the final round of the 2016 season on the 28^th to 30^th of October.

World SSP race results
1. Kenan Sofuoglu – Kawasaki  
2. Niki Tuuli – Yamaha 
3. Kyle Smith – Honda

Championship point score
1. Kenan Sofuoglu – Kawasaki 192 points (won 2016 WorldSSP World Championship)
2. Randy Krummenacher – Kawasaki    129 points
3. Jules Cluzel – MV Agusta – 126 points