Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/303159
WORLD SUPERBIKE WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3/APRIL 27, 2014 CIRCUIT VAN DRENTHE/ASSEN, HOLLAND P82 name in 2014. Baz is third overall now. Rea's podium and win put him up to fourth. Leon Haslam had a redemptive fifth as the Ten Kate Pata Honda guys made a definite if small step up in overall competitiveness. Going the other way was a clearly unhappy Marco Melandri who was sixth in race one, but a near faller in race two in the wet. Running wide on a very fast sec- tion, he recovered but is already 39 points behind Sykes after his race-two sixth place. Chaz Davies was not able to find a good set-up all weekend and placed only seventh in race one, and eighth in the wet of race two. In the Evo battle, Althea Duca- ti rider Niccolo Canepa was the winner this time, with a 10th in the dry of race one and the wet of race two, which took him one point ahead of David Salom's KRT Evo Kawasaki in the table- within-a-table. CN RACE ONE 1. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia) 2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 3. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 4. Loris Baz (Kawasaki) 5. Toni Elias (Aprilia) 6. Marco Melandri (Aprilia) 7. Chaz Davies (Ducati) 8. Leon Haslam (Honda) 9. Alex Lowes (Suzuki) 10. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) RACE TWO 1. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 2. Alex Lowes (Suzuki) 3. Davide Giugliano (Ducati) 4. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 5. Leon Haslam (Honda) 6. Marco Melandri (Aprilia) 7. Loris Baz FRA (Kawasaki) 8. Chaz Davies (Ducati) 9. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia) 10. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) Briefly... Aragon, after recent engine and electronic improvements made his Suzuki GSX-R respond more easily out of the corners and change direc- tion more quickly. "We were a big step better than Aragon in the first practice, but not quite as good again in the afternoon," stated the Irish rider. "We have had a problem since Phillip Island after having a bike that worked well there. But at the Jerez test and then the Aragon race we have been struggling to get the thing stopped and get it going again. It is not chassis, but it is engine and elec- tronics. The bike will stop here and then I have punch out of the corner and we were missing that, definitely." Leon Camier looks set to be around in the World Superbike paddock for a few more races - maybe even to Malaysia in June - given the long recovery period Sylvain Barrier may still need after a car crash several weeks ago. Having ridden full Su- perbikes in World Superbike for four years he was 'parachuted' into the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Evo team at the last round in Aragon. Ronald Ten Kate, team manager of the Pata Honda squad, could smell points in the air as the home event for his team came around again, given previous year's performances. "Even in the years when we were not so competitive in other places the team has always had great results here," said Ten Kate. "On the back of some good results at Aragon, of course, the expectations are higher. We are aiming for the race wins but it is racing, so I am not going to be devastated or crying if we do not win. But I am really expecting some good results from the boys around here." Good job dad: Jonathan Rea's son Jake and wife Tatia welcome dad back after race two.