![Tom Sykes race action shot]()
LEG 1:
Max Biaggi’s monitored pulse rate of 183 beats per minute at the start of Leg 1 at Misano showed how emotional this return to racing was for him. Max was off well at the start, but a pretty wild assault by Sylvain Guintoli caused him to lose ground and settle into 7th spot. Out front, Tom Sykes on the
Kawasaki got off to a perfect start and steadily increased his lead over Ducati’s Davide Giugliano, who was still in pain from a Friday crash.
Having selected a harder compound rear tire, Kawasaki-mounted Jonathan Rea appeared less competitive, settling for 5th in the early stages, behind Ducati’s Chaz Davies, who was very fast at the start, and Aprilia’s Leon Haslam. On lap 2, Jordi Torres crashed his Aprilia, which gave Biaggi 6th. The increasing track temperature helped Rea’s harder rear tire perform better, and by lap 6 he passed Haslam and then Davies on the following lap.
![Max Biaggi race action shot]()
Biaggi’s surgical riding style paid off. He made progress on a slowly fading Giugliano, with Davies still close behind. Biaggi then started reeling in Haslam. The six leaders opened a huge gap on the next group of riders. Honda riders Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van derMark battled harshly, causing them to lose ground to BMW-mounted Ayrton Badovini and Ducati test rider Michele Pirro, who brilliantly replaced Luca Scassa, who crashed on Friday.
Past the midpoint, Sykes opened his lead while Giugliano heroically tried to hold on. Meanwhile, Rea and Davies closed. To stay with Rea, Davies took full advantage of his outstanding braking ability, occasionally passing the SBK championship leader. With three laps to go, Rea finally got rid of Davies and went after Giugliano, while Biaggi closed the gap on Haslam for a neck-and-neck finale. In the last two laps, Rea passed Giuliano for 2nd and Davies gave his all to pass Giugliano but came up short. Biaggi missed 5th place by inches, in a great demonstration of solid, untarnished class. He just needs to get familiar again with the hand-to-hand combat. By winning the battle for 3rd place, Davies brought home Ducati’s 800th SBK podium finish.
![Johnathan Rea race action shot]()
LEG 2:
Jonathan Rea followed Pirelli’s suggestion and put his mighty
Kawasaki ZX-10R on the soft compound for Leg 2. The start at Misano looked like it might be a copy of Leg 2, with Tom Sykes and Davide Giugliano neatly off the line at the start and the rest of the pack trailing. Biaggi again had a close encounter at Turn 1, with Jonathan Rea, but he didn’t lose as much round this time.
The whole race was a lot tighter than Leg 1. Giugliano rode his Ducati 1199 Panigale R to its potential and tool over the lead on Lap 7, passing Sykes, who wasn’t as in tune with his ZX-10R as he had been in Leg 1. Haslam was an early 3rd with Rea 4th and Davies 5th, while Torres and Biaggi were close behind, battling for 6th. Again, Biaggi lost out in the close-quarter battling, but still he kept the young Spaniard under pressure all the way to the end, passing him with three laps to go.
Rea did not waste much time passing Haslam and then reeling in Sykes and passing him. By midrace, Giugliano was in the lead, trailed by Rea. Sykes was unable to hold off Haslam and Davies, who battled all the way to the end for 3rd. Rea mad his master move seven laps from the end, passing Giugliano on the fastest curve of the Misano track, a very daring move that affirmed the supreme class of the Irish rider and the perfectly balanced setting of his Kawasaki ZX-10R.
![Michael van der Mark race action shot]()
But the race remained tight to the end, with Giugliano crossing the line only 1.29 seconds behind Rea, and Haslam only 2.43 sec from Rea and only one-tenth ahead of Davies. Sykes finished 5th, with the remarkable Biaggi breathing down his neck, only two-tenths behind. Torres came home a very close 7th.
Both races were highly emotionally charged, and not just because of the return of Biaggi at 44. Rea is proving to be the best of the best: fast, consistent, and a great tuner and tactician. His points lead in the Superbike World Championship is embarrassing. And Kawasaki is dominating this year with a superbly performing ZX-10R, which has been just about perfect on every track. Ducati’s Panigale 1199R is progressing, but it still lacks a bit of top speed and is not surefooted on every track. Nevertheless, it is now edging the still very consistent
Aprilia RSV4 RF. The others are trailing way behind, never in real contention.
Race 1 Results:
1 Tom Sykes 33m30.813s GBR KAWASAKI
2 Jonathan Rea +3.613s GBR KAWASAKI
3 Chaz Davies +4.178s GBR DUCATI
4 Davide Guigliano +5.944s ITA DUCATI
5 Leon Haslam +12.155s GBR APRILIA
6 Max Biaggi +12.352s ITA APRILIA
7 Ayrton Badovini +18.145s ITA BMW
8 Michele Pirro +18.328s ITA DUCATI
9 Sylvain Guintoli +20.088s FRA HONDA
10 Michael van der Mark +20.282s NED HONDA
Race 2 Results:
1 Jonathan Rea 33m31.716s GBR KAWASAKI
2 Davide Guigliano +1.290s ITA DUCATI
3 Leon Haslam +2.436s GBR APRILIA
4 Chaz Davies +2.514s GBR DUCATI
5 Tom Sykes +5.694s GBR KAWASAKI
6 Max Biaggi +5.911s ITA APRILIA
7 Jordi Torres +7.075s ESP APRILIA
8 Michele Pirro +10.159s ITA DUCATI
9 Sylvain Guintoli +17.476s FRA HONDA
10 Michael van der Mark +17.589s NED HONDA
Championship Standings:
1 Jonathan Rea 375 pts GBR KAWASAKI
2 Tom Sykes 242 pts GBR KAWASAKI
3 Leon Haslam 226 pts GBR APRILIA
4 Chaz Davies 213 pts GBR DUCATI
5 Jordi Torres 140 pts ESP APRILIA
6 Sylvain Guintoli 127 pts FRA HONDA
7 Davide Guigliano 106 pts ITA DUCATI
8 Michael van der Mark 97 pts NED HONDA
9 Leandro Mercado 90 pts ARG DUCATI
10 Matteo Baiocco 89 pts ITA DUCATI
![BIAGGI]()
![JONATHAN-REA-LEADING-DAVIDE-GIULIANO-IN-MISANO-SBK-LEG-2]()
![MISANO-WSBK-BIAGGI]()
![REA]()
![SYKES]()
![TOM-SYKES-CELEBRATING-VICTORY-IN-MISANO-SBK-LEG-1]()
![Van-Der-Mark]()
LEG 1:
Max Biaggi’s monitored pulse rate of 183 beats per minute at the start of Leg 1 at Misano showed how emotional this return to racing was for him. Max was off well at the start, but a pretty wild assault by Sylvain Guintoli caused him to lose ground and settle into 7th spot. Out front, Tom Sykes on the Kawasaki got off to a perfect start and steadily increased his lead over Ducati’s Davide Giugliano, who was still in pain from a Friday crash.
Having selected a harder compound rear tire, Kawasaki-mounted Jonathan Rea appeared less competitive, settling for 5th in the early stages, behind Ducati’s Chaz Davies, who was very fast at the start, and Aprilia’s Leon Haslam. On lap 2, Jordi Torres crashed his Aprilia, which gave Biaggi 6th. The increasing track temperature helped Rea’s harder rear tire perform better, and by lap 6 he passed Haslam and then Davies on the following lap.
Biaggi’s surgical riding style paid off. He made progress on a slowly fading Giugliano, with Davies still close behind. Biaggi then started reeling in Haslam. The six leaders opened a huge gap on the next group of riders. Honda riders Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van derMark battled harshly, causing them to lose ground to BMW-mounted Ayrton Badovini and Ducati test rider Michele Pirro, who brilliantly replaced Luca Scassa, who crashed on Friday.
Past the midpoint, Sykes opened his lead while Giugliano heroically tried to hold on. Meanwhile, Rea and Davies closed. To stay with Rea, Davies took full advantage of his outstanding braking ability, occasionally passing the SBK championship leader. With three laps to go, Rea finally got rid of Davies and went after Giugliano, while Biaggi closed the gap on Haslam for a neck-and-neck finale. In the last two laps, Rea passed Giuliano for 2nd and Davies gave his all to pass Giugliano but came up short. Biaggi missed 5th place by inches, in a great demonstration of solid, untarnished class. He just needs to get familiar again with the hand-to-hand combat. By winning the battle for 3rd place, Davies brought home Ducati’s 800th SBK podium finish.
LEG 2:
Jonathan Rea followed Pirelli’s suggestion and put his mighty Kawasaki ZX-10R on the soft compound for Leg 2. The start at Misano looked like it might be a copy of Leg 2, with Tom Sykes and Davide Giugliano neatly off the line at the start and the rest of the pack trailing. Biaggi again had a close encounter at Turn 1, with Jonathan Rea, but he didn’t lose as much round this time.
The whole race was a lot tighter than Leg 1. Giugliano rode his Ducati 1199 Panigale R to its potential and tool over the lead on Lap 7, passing Sykes, who wasn’t as in tune with his ZX-10R as he had been in Leg 1. Haslam was an early 3rd with Rea 4th and Davies 5th, while Torres and Biaggi were close behind, battling for 6th. Again, Biaggi lost out in the close-quarter battling, but still he kept the young Spaniard under pressure all the way to the end, passing him with three laps to go.
Rea did not waste much time passing Haslam and then reeling in Sykes and passing him. By midrace, Giugliano was in the lead, trailed by Rea. Sykes was unable to hold off Haslam and Davies, who battled all the way to the end for 3rd. Rea mad his master move seven laps from the end, passing Giugliano on the fastest curve of the Misano track, a very daring move that affirmed the supreme class of the Irish rider and the perfectly balanced setting of his Kawasaki ZX-10R.
But the race remained tight to the end, with Giugliano crossing the line only 1.29 seconds behind Rea, and Haslam only 2.43 sec from Rea and only one-tenth ahead of Davies. Sykes finished 5th, with the remarkable Biaggi breathing down his neck, only two-tenths behind. Torres came home a very close 7th.
Both races were highly emotionally charged, and not just because of the return of Biaggi at 44. Rea is proving to be the best of the best: fast, consistent, and a great tuner and tactician. His points lead in the Superbike World Championship is embarrassing. And Kawasaki is dominating this year with a superbly performing ZX-10R, which has been just about perfect on every track. Ducati’s Panigale 1199R is progressing, but it still lacks a bit of top speed and is not surefooted on every track. Nevertheless, it is now edging the still very consistent Aprilia RSV4 RF. The others are trailing way behind, never in real contention.
Race 1 Results:
1 Tom Sykes 33m30.813s GBR KAWASAKI
2 Jonathan Rea +3.613s GBR KAWASAKI
3 Chaz Davies +4.178s GBR DUCATI
4 Davide Guigliano +5.944s ITA DUCATI
5 Leon Haslam +12.155s GBR APRILIA
6 Max Biaggi +12.352s ITA APRILIA
7 Ayrton Badovini +18.145s ITA BMW
8 Michele Pirro +18.328s ITA DUCATI
9 Sylvain Guintoli +20.088s FRA HONDA
10 Michael van der Mark +20.282s NED HONDA
Race 2 Results:
1 Jonathan Rea 33m31.716s GBR KAWASAKI
2 Davide Guigliano +1.290s ITA DUCATI
3 Leon Haslam +2.436s GBR APRILIA
4 Chaz Davies +2.514s GBR DUCATI
5 Tom Sykes +5.694s GBR KAWASAKI
6 Max Biaggi +5.911s ITA APRILIA
7 Jordi Torres +7.075s ESP APRILIA
8 Michele Pirro +10.159s ITA DUCATI
9 Sylvain Guintoli +17.476s FRA HONDA
10 Michael van der Mark +17.589s NED HONDA
Championship Standings:
1 Jonathan Rea 375 pts GBR KAWASAKI
2 Tom Sykes 242 pts GBR KAWASAKI
3 Leon Haslam 226 pts GBR APRILIA
4 Chaz Davies 213 pts GBR DUCATI
5 Jordi Torres 140 pts ESP APRILIA
6 Sylvain Guintoli 127 pts FRA HONDA
7 Davide Guigliano 106 pts ITA DUCATI
8 Michael van der Mark 97 pts NED HONDA
9 Leandro Mercado 90 pts ARG DUCATI
10 Matteo Baiocco 89 pts ITA DUCATI
