VOL. 55 ISSUE 25 JUNE 26, 2018 P95
In race two, and off the sec-
ond row of the reverse grid, he
got swamped in one short period
of race and had to fight for every
inch of ground to end up eighth.
Recent double race winner,
at Donington, Michael van der
Mark, was behind Sykes in race
one, as both struggled horribly
with grip on asphalt that was over
130 degrees. But van der Mark
was fighting on the event horizon
of the race two podium, until he
dropped back, as Lowes went
past for fourth.
Another of the usual top four
(lately top six) riders, Marco Me-
landri (Aruba.it Ducati), had one
up and one down weekend. Fifth
in race one, that was a dream
compared to falling unexpectedly
on the brakes in race two.
After some nightmare results
recently, especially after his in-
credibly promising and rewarding
early season, a sixth in each race
was another confidence booster
for Xavi Fores (Barni Racing
Ducati). He was top independent
rider by some distance, especial-
ly after Donington podium rider
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki
Puccetti Racing) crashed out
spectacularly in race one.
Jordi Torres (MV Agusta
Reparto Corse) put in a strong
