You are here

SBK, Rea dominates at Losail and overtakes Bayliss

Victory number 53 for Johnny, who now lies second in the all-time list of SBK race winners. Davies and Melandri on the podium

SBK: Rea dominates at Losail and overtakes Bayliss

Share


There has been a lot of talk about how Kawasaki is dominating in Superbike but if we take a look at the race 1 results in Qatar, we see that it is actually Johnny Rea who makes the difference, whatever the conditions.

Under the Losail floodlights, Johnny got off the line better than everyone else and rode faster than everyone else, building a lead and demonstrating a pace that no-one could match. A well-deserved win for the Northern Irishman, his fifteenth of the 2017 season.

This latest victory takes the three-time Champion to a total of 53 race wins:Bayliss was an idol for me, now I'm ahead of him -comments an almost incredulous Johnny- I really worked hard for the win and will try to do the same again tomorrow”.

A solid performance by the Ducati Arubas of Davies and Melandri, second and third thanks also to retirement for Forés and a crash for Lowes, with the Welshman narrowly avoiding a crash in the early stages: “I'm second in the championship - stated #7- it was a tough race, but we finished on the podium”.

The Italian was tired but pleased to be on the podium: “I struggled at the start - commented Marco - I was having trouble with the front and preferred to settle”.

The two Aprilia RSV4 bikes of Laverty and Savadori did well, crossing the line fourth and fifth, while Sykes' sixth place confirms the fact that it is Rea who makes the difference rather than the, nevertheless competitive, ZX10RR.

A crash for De Rosa meant Torres was the only Althea BMW rider to cross the line, seventh, followed by Guintoli with the Puccetti Kawasaki and Leon Camier on the MV Agusta.

After solid qualifying sessions, the three Yamahas failed to shine in the race: Andreozzi, Van Der Mark and Lowes achieved four crashes between them during the 17-lap race.

Overall rider's standings: 531, Davies 383, Sykes 373.

 

 

 

 

 

Translated by Heather Watson
__

Related articles