Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea triumphed in Race 2 at the Lausitzring in a dominant wet weather performance, seeing him win by a 9.3 second margin over newcomers to the WorldSBK podium Alex De Angelis of IodaRacing Team, and Xavi Fores out of the Barni Racing Team.
Rain delayed the start of the race twice after first coming down as the riders first lined up on the grid; the rain gradually came down heavier after every warm up lap attempt. Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes grabbed pole and lead into the first corner ahead of Race 1 winner Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Sykes’ teammate Jonathan Rea. Sykes ran wide allowing Rea to take advantage and snatch the lead.
Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) got off to a bad start with a wheelie off the start before having to settle for P17.
Sykes was the first victim of the weather and crashed out before the end of the first lap, leaving Rea to extend his lead ahead of both the rest of the field and in the overall points standings. Sykes later rejoined and was able to salvage four points, finishing in P12.
“I think it was probably a rider issue for my crash today, as the bike set-up was not working well and I think I overstepped the mark in the first race said Sykes.
“We need to find a small set-up improvement in the dry but much more in the wet.”
Lorenzo Savadori, and Davide Giugliano, closely followed by Leon Camier and De Angelis all had good pace in the wet and were all hunting down Davies for a spot on the podium.
Giugliano charged into second before a highside on lap five saw his podium chances vanish, one lap after Savadori crashed out after setting the fastest lap time.
Even though Sykes was out of podium contention, the reigning World Champion continued to ride hard to secure the important 25 points to add to his title defence campaign.
Leon Camier put in another incredible ride into the top four for MV Agusta Reparto Corse, trying to catch Fores for P3 before crossing the line just off the podium and equalling his best result of the year once again. Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team’s Sylvain Guintoli showed he’s back in form after battling with Chaz Davies to finish ahead of him in fifth.
Milwaukee BMW rider Josh Brookes showed his wet weather quality by finishing the treacherous race in seventh. After sliding out of the race in the closing laps, Honda World Superbike Team’s Michael van der Mark rejoined in an impressive push to the line on his battered Fireblade in eighth, ahead of Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN) in ninth and his teammate Nicky Hayden finishing in tenth.
VFT Racing’s Luca Scassa overcame the slippery conditions to finish in P11, while Grillini Racing Teams’ Gianluca Vizziello finished in P13. Team Toth’s Pawel Szkopek looked hopeful moving into the top ten before a minor crash relegated him to P14 ahead of Milwaukee BMW’s Karel Abraham who picked up one point in P15.
Pedercini Racing’s Anthony West, Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team’s Alex Lowes, both Althea BMW riders Jordi Torres and Markus Reiterberger, Saeed Al Sulaiti (Pedercini Racing Team) and Dominic Schmitter (Grillini Racing Team) were all wet weather casualties, not finishing the race.
“It feels like probably the most important win of my career so far. I felt that after yesterday and Laguna our backs were against the wall” said Rea.
” It was one of those positions that with me leading the championship I had a lot to lose – but a lot to gain as well. I took my chance and put my head down from the start. I really felt good with the bike so I have to thank all my crew because last night my bike was not in a great way. They worked really late, and meticulously, to make sure the bike was perfect. To reward them with this result means I am really happy. So this is for my mechanics that have worked so hard and also for Pere and Paolo, who gave me such a good wet bike set-up.”
Round 11 of the FIM MOTUL World Superbike Championship at Magny-Cours in two weeks time.
Championship Standings
1 – Jonathan Rea, 393
2- Tom Sykes, 346
3- Chad Davies, 295
