DONINGTON DOMINATION FOR SYKES

There is a distinctly British flavour to WorldSBK in this current day and age so it was fitting that the 2016 series found its next stop to be Donington Park in the UK and that the Union Jack would fly highest on the podium once again for what was the seventh round of thirteen in the contest. Taking full honours was ‘Donington Dominator’ Tom Sykes on the works Kawasaki ZX-10R.

The diverse blend of corners at the midlands circuit (the fast sweeps of Craner and the Old Hairpin to the switchbacks of Melborne Loop and Goddards) is well known to the Superbike contingent and motorcycle racing in general in the UK. It was at Donington in 1988 that WorldSBK was launched and with the two inaugural races won by Italians. Since 2012 the venue has been owned by Rea and Sykes; mostly the latter who equalled Carl Fogarty’s haul of four pole positions (the 35th of his career) with intent.

Sykes went seven in a row on Saturday. The Kawasaki man headed Superpole in the morning but almost messed up the first race start as the works Ducatis’ headed the field. Chaz Davies suffered the first of two crashes that would spanner his championship bid and Sykes had to deal with teammate Rea and also David Giugliano. Eventually the 2013 world champion’s pace proved superior and he made it to the line almost three seconds ahead of the Italian. With third place Rea extended his podium streak to thirteen.

“I have no real reason why I have won so much at Donington Park but what makes it more rewarding today is that I had to fight for it,” said ’66’. “I had some issues myself from the bike, which is unusual, but the good thing is that even considering these I dug deep and came out with 25 points.”

Sykes swiftly rounded the number up to 50. On Sunday afternoon the Englishman was upstoppable again even with a renewed threat by Rea who kept his teammate honest throughout as the Kawasakis formation-flew throughout all 23 laps. “Eight in a row at Donington feels fantastic and I am over the moon,” he beamed after his second soaking on the podium. “I had a good start to race two and had good pace. For sure it was not perfect and for sure that is why we had a lot of pressure. We did a very good job and had to fight again, so it is more rewarding when you win like this. I am grateful to Kawasaki, Marcel, Danilo and all the boys in the garage because we have won three of the last four races, which is quite promising. I am going to bed tonight thinking we have had a perfect weekend.”

Sykes made a 14 point gain on Rea in the standings but the Irishman is still the championship pace-setter and leads the way by 56; over one whole meeting with another six to go. “In the end of the race I did not have much for Tom,” JR said. “I feel my bike was working really good, so I want to thank my team. In the last few races we have defined the engine character that I really like, so now it is the balance of the bike that seems to be working. To be so close to Tom, in a circuit that he is so strong at, is good because he is riding really strongly now. I am happy for that and happy to come here and make a big margin in my championship lead as well. That is the priority – but it would have been really nice to cap it off with a win in race two.”

A shout out for American Cameron Beaubier who filled in for the injured Alex Lowes on the works Yamaha team despite having only three hours riding on the M1 and left the English circuit with a hard-fought tenth place.

WorldSBK ventures onto Italian soil for the second time this year as the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli warms up for the first of two major motorcycle racing fixtures this summer on June 18-19.

Credit: Monster