WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 51 ISSUE 25 JUNE 24, 2014 P83
Sepang. He also took a new lap
record of 1:35.629 to complete
a great hand of cards that he
laid before his competitors, with
the flourish a World Champion
Briefly...
eventually use the currently unused
grandstand that used to sit alongside
the Rio and Tramonto corners for
spectators.
The World Superbike entry got some
serious rework at Misano, with dis-
gruntled Lorini Honda World Super-
sport rider Riccardo Russo leaving
the team immediately after Sepang
to join the Team Pedercini on an Evo
Superbike. Three wildcards, Michael
Savary on the Dream Team Com-
pany MV Agusta, Matteo Baiocco
on the Grandi Corse by AP Racing
Ducati and Ivan Goi from the Ducati
Barni Racing squad, also showed up
and inflated the grid to 30 riders.
The entire Aprilia squad went retro
crazy at Misano, celebrating the
anniversary of the first ever win for
Aprilia in a World Championship
event, when Loris Reggiani took an
Aprilia 250 to the GP win at Misano
in 1987. The Aprilia racing bikes ran a
gorgeous Reggiani replica paintjob,
both riders Marco Melandri and Syl-
vain Guintoli were in replica leathers,
and to put a bell and whistle on pro-
ceedings the tech team all wore the
same kind of 1980s red dungarees
that gave them the look of - slightly
self-conscious - red colored Super
Mario Brothers.
In another season where red flags
have been overused in the Super-
bike class, there were not one but
two red flags in the second session
for the Superbike on Friday. The MV
Agusta privateer bike of Michael Sa-
vary blew up and caught fire in spec-
tacular fashion, as he bravely yet
foolhardily rode it to the side of the
track and stopped it on the barriers
- despite the bike being completely
Sykes' teammate Loris Baz (76)
had a successful weekend with two
second-place finishes, including
race two when he held off the
challenges of a determined Marco
Melandri (33).
continued on next page
