In the penultimate FIM Superbike World Championship round KRT Rider Tom Sykes battled to two fourth place finishes and kept his championship lead in the process, despite losing some of his points advantage. Loris Baz (KRT) placed fifth and then seventh at his home round while KRT SBK Evo rider David Salom did not ride today, to rest his injured right hand in time to be fully ready for the final round.
Tom Sykes knew his raceday would present challenges after it dawned wet but he battled strongly to take two fourth places on his Ninja ZX-10R and leave with a 12-point advantage to take to the final round.
Starting from pole after a record-breaking track best lap on Saturday Sykes could not stay in the pace of his main championship rivals but his two fourth places mean he is still in the most enviable position of all with one round and two races to go.
The track proved slippery for all after two days of dry and often warm weather and for Loris Baz, French rider’s home venue did not offer him the results he expected. In race one he looked like he would finish on the podium at one stage but he eventually slowed to finish fifth.
His seventh in race two was disappointing as he expected an even better set-up after his first race wet weather experiences, but it was not to be and he worked hard to score useful points. Loris is now in a safe fifth in the championship table, with the possibility of finishing overall fourth if he has two strong races at the final round.
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Despite not electing to ride in either of the 19-lap wet races at Magny Cours David Salom lost little in the championship fight inside the Evo category. Now 12th in the overall SBK rankings, David is 30 points ahead of his nearest Evo rival with one round and two races to go.
The final races of the season will take place at Losail in Qatar, on Sunday 2 November.
Tom Sykes: “In race one that was the limit. I wanted to go faster but unfortunately we have had some limitations for some time in wet conditions and we cannot just quite get to where we need to be. For race two we were also restricted by conditions. It was a big shame because we know I can go much, much faster. Given the conditions these results are better than I expected, so there is one bonus. I wanted to fight with Sylvain and win the race but first I needed to finish the race. It could have been a lot worse but it could have been better. We are still in the best position in the championship so we need to go to Qatar and hopefully it lives up to its reputation as a desert and we will come out swinging.”
Loris Baz: “In race one at one stage I felt I was able to win the race and it was easy on the bike but from one lap to another we lost a lot of grip. It was like the bike had changed in just one lap. Maybe the water was running off the track and maybe the tyre got too warm. On every right corner I was losing the rear. We changed nearly nothing for race two just a little thing on the rear but I could not do anything more and I ended up just waiting for the end of the race. Even going out of the pitlane it just felt strange and not so good. After race one I thought we could run in a good way but we were just struggling a little again. We do not understand because we used to be really good in the wet. I hope we find some more luck and finish the season strongly in Qatar.”
David Salom: “I think it was possible to ride today with painkillers but it would have been too dangerous. When I am in good condition in the rain it is already difficult for me so with this injury it was a risk we did not need to take, especially with the championship position the way it is. I will go to the doctor who made the operation when I get back tomorrow, so he will be able to see what has happened here. Now we have almost one month until Qatar to be ready to race there.”
via Kawasaki
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