Superbike challenger unseats Sykes for first WSBK trophy

By Mikhil Bhat/Losail

 “In my mind, I don’t see myself losing,” title challenger Sylvain Guintoli, who was trailing Tom Sykes by 12 points for the championship, had told Gulf Times going into the final weekend of the 2014 World Superbike Championship (WSBK).

He didn’t.

Guintoli raced his Aprilia to victory in both the races yesterday at the floodlit Losail International Circuit to win his first WSBK title by six points over his Kawasaki rival Sykes, who finished third in both the races.

“I have been thinking about getting a double win all month,” Guintoli said after the second race yesterday. “I knew I had it in me but wasn’t sure I would be able to. I felt so good about the bike. It is been such hard work, trying to not make many mistakes. Tom has been really fast. There was a 44-point difference a couple of rounds ago. But in the end I managed to pull it together.”

Pata Honda rider Jonathan Rea sealed his third spot in the championship with a second place finish in Race 2, and fourth place in the Race 1.

For third straight year, Sykes had been in the mix for a WSBK title but yesterday he just could not cross the finish line as the winner.

“I had a few incidents that were playing across my mind. But it is what it is,” Sykes said about his defeat. “We had our chance mid-season to build up momentum. In the last few rounds, Sylvain and Aprilia were too strong. Unfortunately, it was a winner takes it all today. Obviously we have had some limitations today. I have tried my best in race two. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough.”

Guintoli’s team-mate Marco Melandri finished fourth in the standings ahead of Sykes’ team-mate Loris Baz, who ignored team-orders in the last lap of Race 1 to finish second ahead of Sykes.

Team Pedercini’s Australian rider and four-time Qatar Superbike champion suffered a crash on his WSBK race debut in the third lap of Race 1 and finished 18 in Race 2.

Earlier in the evening, Guintoli had shaved Sykes’ 12-point advantage to three thanks to a win, and Baz’s defiance of team-orders in Race 1.

Guintoli, who had won the last race in Magny-Cours, had started on the second row in the fifth position but raced to third, behind Sykes and Rea, by the first corner of the race.

Rea, who had set some really fast laps in practice, overtook Sykes to leave the championship leaders battling behind him.

By lap 4, Guintoli, who was confident about Aprilia RSV4 performance going into the weekend, found a way past Sykes on the home stretch. He then went past Baz and Rea to lead the race.

Sykes was left dealing with Rea, Davies and Melandri even as the Frenchman built his lead further in the front. By lap 15, Sykes moved up to third and was three odd seconds behind team-mate Baz.

Kawasaki asked Baz to ‘Lose’ trying to minimise the damage to Sykes’ title bid. But Baz ignored the orders, leaving Sykes with a third-place finish and only a three-point gap over Guintoli.

“The target was to win for everyone in the team because that was anyway helping Tom. But the problem was the front tyre; I couldn’t win that one. But when I was in P2, they asked me to go back,” Baz said after the first race. “But as I said you have to make your choices. You know lot of things happened in the last few years. It was hard, I was not always welcome in the team for my team-mate. I have already helped him in Magny-Cours. He has to finish in front of Sylvain. That is his job.”