Race 1:

1 7 C. DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Ducati Panigale R

2 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R

3 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R

4 33 M. MELANDRI ITA Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Ducati Panigale R

5 12 X. FORÉS ESP BARNI Racing Team Ducati Panigale R

6 81 J. TORRES ESP Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR

7 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1

8 36 L. MERCADO ARG IODARacing Aprilia RSV4 RF

9 50 E. LAVERTY IRL Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF

10 69 N. HAYDEN USA Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR

11 6 S. BRADL GER Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR

12 22 A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1

Davies took the pole with a very impressive lap especially since he lost the majority of free practice due to bike issues, Rea took second place ahead of his team mate Sykes who was very ill. As the race started Davies took the lead into turn one with Rea following him through Melandri got a great start moving up to third ahead of Sykes in fourth. As they moved further into lap 1 Rea took the lead not something that Davies wanted as he had shown throughout free practice that he had the race pace to break away, Davies retook the lead at the end of lap 1 passing Rea into the last turn from the outset it was clear we were in for a titanic battle between these two.

Sykes made a move on Melandri to move into third but the front two riders had opened up a slight advantage over the guys battling behind, Xavi Fores was again having a great showing running in fifth he had the factory Yamaha of Van Der Mark behind him in sixth and the returning Mercado running in a brilliant seventh place. With 15 laps to go the front two had really separated themselves from the chasing group, Melandri made his move on Sykes as the italian looked to have the pace to at least match the front two Fores was also hounding Sykes, Unfortuately only a lap later Fores would crash out.

Van Der Mark was having his best race to date on the Yamaha running in fifth place with his team mate Lowes behind in sixth and the very impressive Mercado continuing to run in seventh place, At the front of the race Rea made a simply outrageous move on Davies as they went through turn 10 passing the Ducati around the outside but Davies fought back as the pair swapped positions multiple times in as many corners with Davies eventually coming out on top.

Lowes had closed the gap on Van Der Mark as the Yamaha’s battled over fifth place ahead of them Melandri had broken away from Sykes who was having a rather lonely race in fourth. With only 5 laps to go Lowes made his move to take fifth place,Davies continued to lead the way from Rea but was being hounded at every corner.

As the race got down to 3 laps to go Rea and Davies were showing why they are the two stand out riders of this field currently swapping positions and still managing to gap the rest of the field, As they were about to head onto the final lap what was shaping up to be a titanic battle between the pair turned to disaster for Davies as he crashed out in the final corner handing the race to Rea.

It was a terrible end to a fantastic race for Davies he did look to be struggling for grip in the final few laps with Rea putting extreme pressure on him his crash allowed Rea to extend his lead in the championship further and gave him 5 wins from 5 races, Melandri and Sykes rounded out the bottom as both riders continued their strong starts to the season. The one other notable incident from race one was when the bike of Fores who remounted after his accident caught fire forcing him to ditch it at the side of the track.

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R

2. Marco Melandri ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R

3. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R

4. Alex Lowes GBR PATA Crescent Yamaha R1

5. Michael van der Mark NED PATA Yamaha YZF-R1

6. Jordi Torres ESP Althea BMW S1000RR

7. Leandro Mercado ITA IodaRacing Aprilia RSV4

8. Eugene Laverty IRE Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4

9. Stefan Bradl GER Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR SP2

10. Nicky Hayden USA Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR SP2

11. Leon Camier GBR MV Agusta RC F4 RR

12. Markus Reiterberger GER Althea BMW S1000RR

13. Julian Simon SPA Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4

14. Randy Krummenacher SWI Puccetti Kawasaki ZX-10R

15. Alex de Angelis SMR Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R

16. Riccardo Russo ITA Guandalini Yamaha YZF-R1

Did not finish

Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R

Xavi Fores ESP Barni Ducati 1199R

Roman Ramos ESP Team Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R

Ayrton Badovini ITA Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R

Race 2:

Lowes took the pole for race 2 ahead of his team mate Van Der Mark and Jordi Torres who completed the front row, The impressive Mercado started form fourth with Laverty and Bradl joining him on the second row. Row three was made up of Melandri,Sykes and Rea,Davies started from tenth as he was the highest qualifier who failed to finish in the top 9 of race 1.

Lowes got away from the line well taking the lead into turn one ahead of Laverty who made a super start Van Der Mark followed them through with Sykes,Melandri and Rea all making it through turn one without issue. Mid way through the lap Laverty began dropping down the order leaving the Yamahas alone at the front with Lowes in first and Van Der Mark in second, Sykes made his way up to third with Rea just behind him,The Ducatis of Melandri and Davies were running in unison behind them.

Rea moved past Sykes on lap 3 and shortly after dispatched Van Der Mark and went about chasing Lowes down in first. Davies at this stage was struggling slightly to pass Melandri who looked to have a strong pace early on.

Melandri passed Sykes who was still suffering badly with illness to go into fourth he was followed through by Davies shortly afterwards just as Melandri made his move to go third passing Van Der Mark. On lap 4 Rea took the lead from Lowes this fight allowed Melandri to close right up shortly after Rea passed Lowes Melandri also slipped past.

Davies was still stuck behind Van Der Mark in fifth but was all over the Yamaha looking like he just needed the slightest of gap to make his move, Behind them Sykes was falling further back as it looked like the illness was finally taking its toll on him. Mercado continued to impress running in an impressive seventh place and again was running as the top place Aprillia.

Davies finally made his move on Van Der Mark with 11 laps to go passing him going into turn 1 and moved right onto the rear wheel of Lowes at this point in the race he looked to have found his rhythm and was setting very fast laps, Davies made his move on Lowes at the end of the lap passing him into the final turn setting the fastest lap of the race in the process.

With only 8 laps to go Rea continued to lead but Davies had now made his way into second place passing Melandri into turn 1 as he looked to limit the damage to his championship challenge he had caused by crashing out yesterday, Behind the front 3 were the 2 Yamahas both having great pace but lacking that extra horsepower to live with the front 3. Unfortunately for the Yamaha team Lowes ran on at turn 14 dropping right down the order that mistake caught Van Der Mark out and allowed a huge gap to open up between him and the front.

Davies took the lead of the race from Rea with only 4 laps to go setting up a brilliant battle between them both with the added spice of Melandri in the mix, Melandri made his presence known passing Rea on the back straight using the apparent extra horsepower and slipstream his time in second didnt last long as Rea re took the position shortly after.

Melandri ran wide into the final turn opening up a gap to the front 2 leaving them to fight it out for the win, Sykes managed to regroup a bit and took fourth place from Van Der Mark but he was almost 8 seconds behind the leaders.

As they entered the final lap Davies continued to lead from Rea as he set the fastest lap trying to break Rea unfortunately he made another error but unlike yesterday managed to keep the bike upright Rea couldnt take adavantage of this mistake and Davies took the win breaking the win streak of Rea, Melandri completed the podium as he continued his impressive return to WSBK.

Rea still holds a 50 point gap at the top of the championship even after Davies win taking a race win and second place at arguably Davies most dominant track this is exactly the sort of form the rest of the field were hoping they wouldnt see this year from Rea, Next time out is Assen where Rea has dominated since his Honda days.

1 1 7 C. DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Ducati Panigale R

2 2 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R

3 4 33 M. MELANDRI ITA Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Ducati Panigale R

4 3 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R

5 7 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1

6 5 12 X. FORÉS ESP BARNI Racing Team Ducati Panigale R

7 6 81 J. TORRES ESP Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR

8 8 36 L. MERCADO ARG IODARacing Aprilia RSV4 RF

9 9 50 E. LAVERTY IRL Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF

10 15 2 L. CAMIER GBR MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta 1000 F4

11 14 40 R. RAMOS ESP Team Kawasaki Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R

12 11 6 S. BRADL GER Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR

13 12 22 A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1

14 16 88 R. KRUMMENACHER SUI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R

15 17 3 J. SIMON ESP Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF

16 13 21 M. REITERBERGER GER Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR

17 21 86 A. BADOVINI ITA Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R

————————————————–Not Classified————————————————–

RET 18 15 A. DE ANGELIS RSM Pedercini Racing SC-Project Kawasaki ZX-10R

RET 19 84 R. RUSSO ITA Guandalini Racing Yamaha YZF R1 12

RET 10 69 N. HAYDEN USA Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR