Chaz Davies proved too strong for the two factory Kawasaki riders as he claimed his fifth victory of the season at the Lausitzring. The Welshman came through from sixth on the grid to defeat Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes with the reigning champion extending his overall lead to 63 points with second place.
Earlier in the day, Superpole had followed the form book with Sykes, who had topped all three practice sessions, taking his fourth consecutive pole position ahead of his team-mate Rea. Lorenzo Savadori produced a stand-out performance to complete the front row but the natural order soon established itself at the start of race one as the factory Ducati and Kawasaki riders broke away immediately.
Sykes took advantage of an error from Rea to lead at turn one but Davies was the man on the move, climbing straight up to second before outbraking the pole-sitter at turn ten on the second lap. Keen to give chase, Rea moved straight past Sykes into second but the relentless race pace of the Ducati ultimately proved too strong, allowing Davies to ease away in the closing stages.
Rea comfortably had the measure of Sykes, ensuring he would take second at the expense of his championship rival, while Marco Melandri rode a lonely race to fourth, earning his pole position for race two tomorrow. Leon Camier produced yet more heroics aboard the MV Agusta to finish fifth, winning a race-long battle with the Yamaha of Alex Lowes, while Savadori fell to seventh despite his lofty starting spot.
Spanish duo Xavi Fores and Jordi Torres were eighth and ninth respectively ahead of Eugene Laverty who bounced back from a disastrous start to take tenth. For Honda though, there were no signs of recovery after a terrible campaign so far with home favourite Stefan Bradl failing to start after injuring himself in practice.
WorldSBK 2017: Prosecco DOC German Round – Race One Result
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