ROUND 5/MAY 26, 2013
DONINGTON PARK/EAST MIDLANDS, ENGLAND
WORLD SUPERBIKE
P86
WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
BY GORDON RITCHIE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
K
awasaki's Tom Sykes
proved he was not only a
championship challenger
again with two wins at his home
track of Donington, but he also
joined the double winners' club
for the first time - the way his British compatriot Chaz Davies did at
Aragon.
These wins – clear, emphatic
and front running as only Sykes
really seems capable of – were
his seventh and eighth career
victories, but they only added to
his Donington haul of glory. He
set fastest laps in first qualifying, second qualifying, all three
Superpole sectors and morning warm-up - and he even set
a new lap record of 1:28.074 in
race two to add to his new track
best of 1:27.378 that he set in Superpole. A full house – no matter
how you measure it.
Amazingly, he even went faster
in race two after his team crew
chief Marcel Duinker made one
click on his suspension for the
warmer second outing. It made
all the difference, according to
both rider and technician.
The last time a Kawasaki rider
won a double in World Superbike
was at Sugo in 2000, when Hitoyasu Izutsu did the deed.
Sykes was overjoyed at strong
rides that drew him to within four
points of championship leader
Sylvain Guintoli.
"The Ninja ZX-10R is working
well, it has been all weekend, and
HISTORY
MAKER
K
I felt very motivated," said Sykes.
"It was not as easy as it looked.
We are racing in a World Championship and these guys are as fast
as you like and very competitive.
We have had criticism in the past
about tire life and the finger has
been pointed at the rider, which
is the easy way out, but Kawasaki
is a very close unit and we have
worked hard and everybody has
seen how much better we are in
the races. Last year was a different story and on Saturday nights I
sleep a lot easier because I know
the tires will be with me for the entire race. Last year I would get to
mid-race and drop like a lead balloon. I got the circuit record yesterday and I got the new lap record in race two. I really enjoyed
the support from the crowd and I
