VOL. 54 ISSUE 44 NOVEMBER 7, 2017 P35
fallen by catching a white line
and sliding off at high speed.
Davies and Sykes had started
the weekend equal on points,
but Davies also took second in
race one, while Sykes, on a tire
he said just never worked, toiled
hard and for little in sixth. His
final-day crash summed up his
season, as the ever more street-
bike/stock/anti-tuning rules
have moved further away from
his career-long riding style.
Although both Davies and
Sykes' season records including
wins (seven for Davies and two
for Sykes) they still cannot find
consistency or pace enough to
stay with Rea.
Rea ended up winning in 2017
by 153 points over Davies, and
183 over his teammate.
Davies and Sykes, the final
item to be really decided at Lo-
sail under the floodlights, proved
almost no contest after race
one, but Sykes' second-race
crash was cruel. Sykes was glad
to wave goodbye to 2017.
Davies was lucky to finish race
two, even though he did not
need the points to be second
overall, after a near highside. He
smashed his windscreen hard
enough to leave a long and an-
gry looking red line on his neck,
and for the broken screen to cut
his leathers and cause him great
pain and then leave his head and
shoulders out in the breeze of
the desert night with not much
screen left.
"That was big, a big head-butt,
and it knocked the wind out my
sails for a couple of seconds,"
Davies said. "At that point, I saw
that Tom was out so it was up to
me then how I wanted to run the
race. Objective complete and I
am happy because it has been a
tough season."
Marco Melandri on the other
works Ducati scored third in
race two.
An equal best-of-the-season
fourth for the Milwaukee Aprilia
rider Eugene Laverty and fifth for
his teammate Lorenzo Savadori
transpired behind Melandri.
Sixth was Sykes and Xavi
Fores continued his strong
privateer form to seventh, and
seventh overall in the series
behind the two Pata Yamaha fac-
tory bikes.
A rough race one for both
eventual fifth-placed champi-
onship rider Alex Lowes (Pata
Yamaha) and his sixth-ranked
teammate Michael van der Mark
saw VDM crash after touching
Sykes' tail unit in race one with
his handlebar, and then Lowes
crash twice: once on his own,
losing the front in a podium posi-
tion, and then a faster front ender
when his damaged lever, throttle
and glove conspired to lock the
front on a fast corner entry.
Race two was much brighter
under artificial light, with Lowes
third and VDM fourth. Fores was
fifth, one place ahead of Me-
landri, with Laverty sixth and Syl-
vain Guintoli eighth in his second
Kawasaki Puccetti ride of 2017.
Leon Camier signed off from his
MV Agusta career with ninth.
Jake Gagne, in his third
WorldSBK outing with the Red
Bull Honda team in 2017, was a
positive 12th in both of his first
rides under the floodlights at
Qatar.
"This track is completely
different, wide really, really fast
under the lights was crazy," he
said. "Nothing is sorted right
now for next year but I am going
to keep bugging these guys and
let them know that I really want
to ride and I will do anything it
takes."
