WORLD SUPERBIKE
WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 5/MAY 10, 2015
ENZO/DINO FERRARI CIRCUIT/IMOLA, ITALY
P84
each time), but he really looked
like he could stay with Rea at
times this weekend, rather than
get left behind.
Sykes led race one for a bit,
both the real six lapper and the
cancelled first attempt, that went
just beyond half way.
Rea was in control of his rival
in the end each time—nobody
including Sykes had any doubt
about that. But even after a ter-
rible weekend for another top
championship contender, Aruba.
it Racing Ducati's Chaz Davies
and his two DNFs, the evidence
was that Sykes had made a real
move forward in befriending his
2015 spec Kawasaki.
The new tech rules—that have
made big differences to the
Kawasaki compared to its more
freely tuned and geometrically
engineered former self—have a
lot to answer for in Sykes' eyes,
but now at least there appeared
to be some answers.
"The good thing is we have
improved from previous events,
and from last year, so I think we
are heading in the right direc-
tion," said Sykes. "Still there are
some minor things to change,
but on the whole we have ad-
dressed some of our limitations."
With Davies and Haslam out
of luck and hurting (psychologi-
cally and physically, respectively)
it was up to their teammates to
throw some sunshine under the
garage doors.
Davies teammate Davide
Giugliano made miracles hap-
pen to win Superpole after three
months off due to injury. The
fairytale race return to Ducati's
home racetrack blew his mind as
well as everyone else's.
Giugliano was fast in the
aborted first race, running right
out front, but having to give way
eventually. He was physically
wrecked after that exertion, so
he thought he would have no
chance in the real six-lap version
of race one.
He was third, his seventh ca-
reer World Superbike podium.
Giugliano even managed to
finish race two, all 19-laps of it,
Chaz Davies'
Imola woes
resulted in zero
points from the
weekend, pretty
much putting his
championship
hopes out of
reach.
