World Superbike

SBK Magny Cours Race Two: Sykes On Verge Of Title Glory

3 Mins read

Tom Sykes requires just thirteen points from the final two races to be crowned Superbike World Champion after totally dominating the second race at Magny Cours. Sykes left the two factory Aprilia riders behind with a late rain shower bringing an end to a thrilling battle between Eugene Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli over second on the last lap.

The outcome of the race as far as victory was concerned was never in doubt from the moment Sykes grabbed the holeshot, the Kawasaki rider pulling away at half a second per lap. With no chance of challenging the leader, Guintoli and Laverty engaged in their own private duel which would have the French crowd on their feet. The home favourite had the edge at half distance after a move at Chateaux d’eau but with seven laps remaining, the gloves would well and truly come off.

Laverty signalled his intentions by outbraking Guintoli into Adelaide and the Frenchman looked to have ruined his chances with a mistake at the Nurburgring which sent him straight across the run-off but after quick detour, Sylvain was back on the tail of his teammate. Two laps later, Guintoli regained second at Imola but Eugene outdragged him again as they powered down the back straight, just three laps remained.

With the atmosphere reaching fever pitch in the grandstands, Guintoli dived inside Laverty at Estoril but yet again, the no.58 was stronger on the run to Adelaide. The fans favourite surged straight up the inside into 180 but with rain falling, all bets were off on the last lap and after a fourth successful pass at the hairpin, Laverty lost the back end of his RSV4 on the slippery surface. The spectators had nothing to celebrate though with Guintoli skating off at the same corner and with both challengers on the floor, the unlikely scenario which would crown Sykes champion today was suddenly on the verge of becoming a reality.

Before Kawasaki could start celebrating though, the red flags came out due to the lack of grip and Laverty and Guintoli would be credited with second and third respectively. Davide Giugliano matched his race one effort in fourth ahead of Chaz Davies while Vincent Philippe made up for his race one disappointment by taking sixth ahead of Marco Melandri who lost ground with an apparent technical problem four laps in.

 

2013 eni Superbike World Championship – Riders Championship Standings After Round 13: Magny Cours
Pos Rider Bike Team Wins Pts
1 ▶ Tom Sykes Kawasaki ZX-10R Kawasaki Racing Team 9 411
2 ▶ Eugene Laverty Aprilia RSV4 Factory Aprilia Racing Team 7 374
3 ▶ Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia RSV4 Factory Aprilia Racing Team 1 373
4 ▶ Marco Melandri BMW S1000RR BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK 3 339
5 ▶ Chaz Davies BMW S1000RR BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK 3 270
6 ▲ Davide Giugliano Aprilia RSV4 Factory Althea Racing 195
7 ▲ Michel Fabrizio Honda CBR1000RR PATA Honda World Superbike 186
8 ▼ Loris Baz Kawasaki ZX-10R Kawasaki Racing Team 1 180
9 ▼ Jonathan Rea Honda CBR1000RR PATA Honda World Superbike 1 176
10 ▶ Jules Cluzel Suzuki GSX-R1000 FIXI Crescent Suzuki 162
11 ▲ Ayrton Badovini Ducati 1199 Panigale R Team Ducati Alstare 127
12 ▼ Leon Camier Suzuki GSX-R1000 FIXI Crescent Suzuki 114
13 ▲ Leon Haslam Honda CBR1000RR PATA Honda World Superbike 91
14 ▼ Max Neukirchner Ducati 1199 Panigale R MR-Racing 84
15 ▶ Carlos Checa Ducati 1199 Panigale R Team Ducati Alstare 80
16 ▶ Federico Sandi Kawasaki ZX-10R Pedercini Team 54
17 ▶ Toni Elias Aprilia RSV4 Factory Red Devils Roma 46
18 ▶ Mark Aitchison Kawasaki ZX-10R Pedercini Team 33
19 ▶ Vittorio Iannuzzo BMW S1000RR Grillini Dentalmatic SBK 27
20 ▲ David Salom Kawasaki ZX-10R Kawasaki Racing Team 22
21 ▼ Ivan Clementi BMW S1000RR HTM Racing 18
22  Vincent Philippe Suzuki GSX-R1000 FIXI Crescent Suzuki 13
23 ▲ Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati 1098R Mesaroli Transports A.S. 13
24 ▼ Niccolo Canepa Ducati 1199 Panigale R Team Ducati Alstare 12
25 ▶ Fabrizio Lai Kawasaki ZX-10R Pedercini Team 11
26 ▲ Michele Pirro Ducati 1199 Panigale R Team Ducati Alstare 10
27 ▼ Alexander Lundh Kawasaki ZX-10R Pedercini Team 10
28 ▼ Roger Lee Hayden Suzuki GSX-R1000 Michael Jordan Motorsports 8
29 ▼ Blake Young Suzuki GSX-R1000 FIXI Crescent Suzuki 8
30 ▼ Markus Reiterberger BMW S1000RR Vanzon-Remeha-BMW 7
31 ▼ Glenn Allerton BMW S1000RR Next Gen Motorsports 6
32 ▼ Tolga Uprak Kawasaki ZX-10R CMS-Eypbike Racing Team 5
33 ▼ Matej Smrz Yamaha YZF-R1 Yamaha Motor Deutschland 4
34 ▼ Jamie Stauffer Honda CBR1000RR Team Honda Racing 4
35 ▼ Yunus Ercelik BMW S1000RR Sampiyon 169 Team 3
36 ▼ Danny Eslick Suzuki GSX-R1000 Michael Jordan Motorsports 2
37 ▼ Kosuke Akiyoshi Honda CBR1000RR PATA Honda World Superbike 2
38 ▼ Noriyuki Haga BMW S1000RR Grillini Dentalmatic SBK 2
Final Round: Jerez (October 20th)
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