IN
THE
WIND
P36
YET ANOTHER GREEN DAY IN WORLDSBK
A
fter the recent loss of Nicky
Hayden there was no way
the WorldSBK weekend at Don-
ington Park, May 28-29, was
going to be a normal one, but
however heavy the hearts, the
regular business of racing got
underway, as it had to.
After a moving tribute on the
start line before Saturday's race,
with paddock people and guests
on one side of the main straight
and fans on the other, each
facing Nicky's bike and team
and passing a minute of silence
followed by applause, racing got
underway in the biggest class.
The first race provided thrills
and one potentially horrid spill,
one that saw Jonathan Rea
(Kawasaki Racing Team) lucky
to walk away when his rear tire
suddenly deflated, pitching him
off on a fourth-gear downhill
section.
"It felt like the tire came off the
rim or exploded or something,"
Rea said.
He was leading at the time,
and the previous leader Chaz
Davies had fallen off and restart-
ed his Aruba.it Racing Ducati for
eighth place. That left Superpole
winner and Donington maestro
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing
Team) clear to make it nine race
wins in a row at his home circuit,
having an eventually clear run
out to his first win of 2017—by
16.5 seconds.
Behind him, after the ca-
lamities for Rea and Davies,
was none other than five-time
WorldSBK race winner and cur-
rent BSB rider Leon Haslam. On
a wildcard Puccetti Racing Team
Kawasaki, he scored a remark-
able second place, and with
another novelty right behind him.
Alex Lowes gave the Pata
Yamaha squad its first podium
place in 2017, in a truly brilliant
ride from absolutely last to a bi-
zarre third. He had been pushed
out in the first corner and got
away fully last into Craner
Curves, so he passed every-
Jonathan Rea (1) finally
broke through to defeat
Tom Sykes in race two
and end Sykes' Donington
Park win streak at nine.
