VOL. 51 ISSUE 28 JULY 15, 2014 P47
the scruff of the neck and won
his eighth race of the nine-round
(18 races) season. He left with
an extended championship lead
– by a single point – but a highly
unlikely extra one when looking
at the beginning race weekend.
"I knew this circuit would be
difficult for us after last year, and
then again after race one this
year, so if you had offered me
that deal last night I would have
taken it," Sykes said. "The bike
was working well, just not well
enough to win in the first one.
I was motivated after race one
and the bike was working well.
We made changes for the first
attempt at race two and we im-
proved it, and then for the first
restart it was better again and
then for the final part we made
another change and it was bet-
ter again. We held our own and
gained one point on them. If you
had offered me that the night be-
fore the race I would have taken
it. We cannot win them all, but I
have got my head screwed on,
as have the guys around me, and
sometimes you just have to settle
for what you get. I am very happy
to leave with such a lead."
Guintoli was second again in
race two, and Jonathan Rea a
happy and committed third, after
qualifying only 10th and moving
forward inexorably after all those
Briefly...
UK – as he was a 125 and 250cc GP
rider in his early career. "I suppose
I have ridden here more than I have
raced at Donington or Silverstone,
so it is a bit different I suppose. I am
catching up at Donington and Silver-
stone." Davies was third on the grid
final, and fast all weekend as the
Panigale grows week-on-week.
A small meeting with the media after
the Superpole press conference at
Laguna Seca saw Erik Buell indi-
cate his desire to continue in 2015,
but he stopped short of unveiling
firm EBR plans. The big scale of op-
erations run this year may have to be
pulled back, but despite the issues
of 2014 – or maybe because of them
– Buell does want to stay in the club
they worked so hard to join this year.
(Below) Eugene Laverty (58) and
Davide Giugliano (34) battle for
fourth in race two. Laverty earned
the spot with Giugliano crashing out
in the Corkscrew.
continued on next page
