WSBK Assen: Sykes pulls away and gets Race 1 win 

Tom Sykes dominated race 1 to get the 6th race win of his career - the 1st of 2013 - at Assen's TT Circuit today. The Kawasaki Racing Team rider rode a lonely race at the front thanks to an incredible pace, that allowed him to pull away from the chasing pack already in the opening laps. The 27 year old from Huddersfield has given Kawasaki the first victory after 7 long years: last time out was Chris Walker, in 2006, to win Race 1 on the iconic Dutch circuit. Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) finished with a solid 2nd place after a successful overtaking manoeuvre on Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) at Turn 13. 
Second works Aprilia rider Eugene Laverty was part of the 3-way battle for 2nd place but had some hard time in the last part of the race. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) was 5th at the chequered flag ahead of Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Aprilia), who was very competitive in the early laps but couldn't keep the pace of the leaders as the race progressed. It's been an unlucky race for BMW, with Chaz Davies who had to line up on the last row of the grid after the warm-up crash that forced his crew to a quick rebuild of his BMW S 1000 RR. The Welshman made his way up to a 7th place finish after a good start. An unfortunate Marco Melandri suffered a technical problem on his bike during the warm-up lap and was forced to pull in before the start of the race. 

Assen, 26-27-28 April 2013 
Laps 22 = 99,924 Km - Time Of Race 35'35.042 - Avg. 168,487 km/h 

Pos Qualifying Grid No. Rider Nat Team Bike LL Gap Fastest Lap Speed Speed Ranking Race Time 
1 1 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 22 1'35.893 287,0 1'35.043 288,6 25 63 3 
2 2 65 J. REA GBR Pata Honda World Superbike Honda CBR1000RR 22 8.786 1'36.372 286,3 1'35.639 286,3 20 50 5 
3 4 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Aprilia Racing Team Aprilia RSV4 Factory 22 8.792 1'36.449 292,5 1'35.973 293,3 16 101 1 
4 3 58 E. LAVERTY IRL Aprilia Racing Team Aprilia RSV4 Factory 22 9.225 1'36.403 293,3 1'35.814 291,7 13 58 4 
5 5 76 L. BAZ FRA Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 22 14.231 1'36.901 285,5 1'36.166 290,9 11 42 8 
6 6 34 D. GIUGLIANO ITA Althea Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 22 16.150 1'36.628 283,3 1'36.326 287,0 10 33 10 
7 13 19 C. DAVIES GBR BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK BMW S1000 RR 22 22.570 1'36.867 287,8 1'37.865 287,0 9 72 2 
8 10 16 J. CLUZEL FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 22 24.751 1'37.330 287,0 1'36.837 287,8 8 41 9 
9 19 2 L. CAMIER GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 22 30.311 1'37.527 283,3 2'01.728 256,3 7 21 14 
10 8 7 C. CHECA ESP Team Ducati Alstare Ducati 1199 Panigale R 22 35.277 1'37.468 278,1 1'36.438 278,9 6 23 13




Race 2: Laverty denies Sykes a double win 

The final race for Round 3 of eni FIM Superbike World Championship at Assen saw a close battle between race 1 winner Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team), who pulled away at the front in the early laps. Sykes stayed on the lead until lap 19, when Laverty decided to take the plunge and made a move on the Brit at Turn 6. Sykes managed to stay with the Irishman until the end and tried his final shot at the win at Turn 16, with the two riders crossing the line side by side. A 0.089 seconds margin allowed Eugene Laverty to score his 5th career win, the 2nd one in 2013 after Phillip Island Race 2. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) successfully defended his 3rd place over Jonathan Rea, who ended on a positive note a difficult round for the Pata Honda World Superbike Team. 
A below-par race for Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) and Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team), 5th and 6th respectively at the chequered flag. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) rode bravely from last place on the grid to a 7th place finish, while his team mate Jules Cluzel was forced to pull in during lap 16 due to a technical problem. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) had a perfect start of the race but struggled to keep the pace, eventually finishing 8th ahead of Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) and Carlos Checa (Team Ducati Alstare). An unfortunate Davide Giugliano crashed out of Turn 2 during lap 6, while he was in 3rd place. The Italian rider was OK straight after the crash unlike his Aprilia RSV4 that went on fire.  



Assen, 26-27-28 April 2013 
Laps 22 = 99,924 Km - Time Of Race 35'36.814 - Avg. 168,347 km/h 
Pos Qualifying Grid No. Rider Nat Team Bike LL Gap Fastest Lap Speed Speed Ranking Race Time 
1 3 58 E. LAVERTY IRL Aprilia Racing Team Aprilia RSV4 Factory 22 1'36.085 290,1 1'35.814 291,7 13 25 83 2 
2 1 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 22 0.089 1'36.135 285,5 1'35.043 288,6 25 20 83 4 
3 5 76 L. BAZ FRA Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 22 5.848 1'36.412 284,8 1'36.166 290,9 11 16 58 6 
4 2 65 J. REA GBR Pata Honda World Superbike Honda CBR1000RR 22 5.890 1'36.378 287,0 1'35.639 286,3 20 13 63 5 
5 13 19 C. DAVIES GBR BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK BMW S1000 RR 22 7.359 1'36.541 290,1 1'37.865 287,0 9 11 83 3 
6 4 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Aprilia Racing Team Aprilia RSV4 Factory 22 7.404 1'36.489 291,7 1'35.973 293,3 16 10 111 1 
7 19 2 L. CAMIER GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 22 21.095 1'36.789 281,8 2'01.728 256,3 7 9 30 11 
8 7 33 M. MELANDRI ITA BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK BMW S1000 RR 22 27.267 1'36.642 290,9 1'36.330 293,3 8 51 8 
9 9 84 M.FABRIZIO ITA Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 Factory 22 30.233 1'37.203 290,1 1'37.570 293,3 4 7 53 7 
10 8 7 C. CHECA ESP Team Ducati Alstare Ducati 1199 Panigale R 22 32.401 1'37.424 276,0 1'36.438 278,9 6 6 29 12

 

2013 Standings Riders - FIM Superbike World Championship 
RIDER   MANUFACTURER  POINTS 
SYLVAIN GUINTOLIAPRILIA  111 
EUGENE LAVERTYAPRILIA  83 
CHAZ DAVIESBMW  83 
TOM SYKESKAWASAKI 83 
JONATHAN REAHONDA  63 
LORIS BAZKAWASAKI  58 
MICHEL FABRIZIOAPRILIA  53 
MARCO MELANDRIBMW  51 
JULES CLUZELSUZUKI  41 
DAVIDE GIUGLIANOAPRILIA  33
 

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