SYKES LUCKS OUT, MELANDRI
CHECKS IN AT MISANO WORLDSBK
M
arco Melandri (Aruba.
it Racing Ducati) has had
his invitation for a place on the
WorldSBK race winner's podium
wide open since he came back
into the fold this season, but it
took until the second race of a
dramatic Misano weekend for
him to make sure of his 20th
career Superbike race win.
As he said, "For me it is the
first time I have won in Super-
bike in Italy, my first win with
Ducati, my first win since I came
back, and 100 wins for Italian
riders in World Superbike—so it
is something special for sure."
He has previously won on
Yamaha, BMW and Aprilia
machines, and now Ducati's
Panigale.
The other race, the first, was
won on Saturday by Donington
Park winner Tom Sykes (Kawa-
saki Racing Team). With a tire
that he felt did not give its best
all race long, Sykes went from a
Superpole-winning starting posi-
tion to fifth, and stayed there.
He may have stayed there
until the very end but for a series
of astounding circumstances, in
which first the unexpected race
leader Michael van der Mark
(Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK
Team) crashed when his back
tire suddenly deflated at turn 13.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Rac-
ing Team) took over the lead and
Sykes went fourth. Chaz Davies
(Aruba.it Racing Ducati) passed
Rea to the lead but then, on the
very last lap, Melandri crashed
out of third position. Sykes was
then up to the podium in third.
Then came a horror crash
with only a slightly less than hor-
rible outcome for Davies, as he
lost the front with three corners
to go, and the closely follow-
ing Rea could not avoid him.
Despite the relatively low speed,
the hit on Davies was hard, Rea
was punted skywards and both
IN
THE
WIND
P44
Tom Sykes was in the
right place at the right
time to win a leg of the
WorldSBK round at
Misano.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GOLE
&
GOOSE
