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At the US Round on Saturday Tom Sykes grabbed pole, with Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies also securing front row slots

On Saturday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) enhanced his reputation as ‘Mr Superpole’ securing the top spot on the grid with a 1’22.476 hot lap, in front of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) on the front row.

After equaling Troy Corser’s record of three poles at Laguna with his 41st WorldSBK pole Sykes will be full of confidence going into Race 1. Rea qualified +0.09s down on his teammate in second, with Davies +0.407s off pole in third.

Lining up on row two are Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) and Leandro Mercado (IODARacing).

The third row for Race 1 is set to feature Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team), Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse).

Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) and Alex De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC-Project) all slotted in on the fourth row.

Savadori and Mercado were the two riders to make it through from Tissot Superpole 1, with Savadori the top man in that session.

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US Round commences with Davies at the top of FP1 timesheet, followed by Laverty and Melandri

As Round 8 of the 2017 World Superbike World Championship got underway on Friday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) returned from injury to lead the way in FP1, topping the timesheet ahead of Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) and Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati).

Welshman Davies missed Race 2 at the last round at Misano due to back and thumb injuries sustained in a crash late in the Saturday race that same weekend, but after a fitness test ahead of the action at Laguna he got right on the pace again. His 1’23.425 lap was the fastest in FP1 and put him a significant +0.673s margin ahead of second quickest rider Laverty, with Melandri in third place.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was fourth best, with Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) completing the top five in the Californian sunshine.

Also featuring in the top ten were Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team), Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) and Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team).

The riders will return to the track for their second practice session of the US Round at 2.30pm local time on Friday.

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Ducati man quicker than rivals on day one at Laguna as he returns from injury, with Rea and Melandri also in top three

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) made a statement of intent with the fastest time on day one of the US Round, returning to action after his Misano injuries with a 1’23.425 time in FP1 to put him ahead of his rivals.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was second quickest thanks to a 1’23.436 lap in FP2, with Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) third on the combined timesheets - with his best time (1’23.778) coming in the afternoon session.

It was a strong showing from Davies on his return to action, after thumb and back injuries sustained at Misano, which had kept him out of Race 2 at the last round.

Milwaukee Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty showed good pace to lap fourth best, his fastest time also coming from FP1, like that of Davies.

In fifth place was Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), just ahead of Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team). Rounding out the top ten and therefore going straight into Superpole 2 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca were Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) and Alex De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC-Project).

The red flag came out early in the FP2 session after a crash for Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) at the top of the Corkscrew, whilst there were also crashes for Laverty, Lowes, Torres and Raffaele de Rosa (Althea BMW Racing Team) in the afternoon run.

Earlier in the day Davies’ rapid FP1 time saw him lead that session by a significant +0.673s margin ahead of second best rider Laverty, with Melandri in third place.

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At the Pirelli Riviera Di Rimini Round on Sunday it was home rider Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) who took a stunning first win of 2017, with Kawasaki Racing Team pair Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes also on the podium.
 
Responding positively to his last lap crash in Race 1, Melandri came from tenth on the grid to return to winning ways with a +1.113s victory over Rea. It was Melandri’s first WorldSBK win since 2014 and the 100th victory for an Italian rider in the top class of the championship.
 
The second place result for World Champion Rea strengthened his title defence as he now leads the standings by 50 points after seven rounds. It was also a successful weekend for Sykes as he followed up on his Race 1 win with another podium result to continue his excellent recent form.
 
Starting from pole Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) had held the lead for 8 laps but he was hugely frustrated to drop out of the race with a technical problem with just 3 laps to go when riding in second place.
 
The top five was completed by Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia), with the Dutchman crossing the line fourth and the Irishman fifth.
 
Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), Raffaele de Rosa (Althea BMW Racing Team), Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), Leandro Mercado (IODARacing) and Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) completed the top ten.
 
Only 12 riders finished the race at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, with the likes of Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) and Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) all retiring with technical problems.
 
With 10 laps to go Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) went down at Turn 2 and he was unable to finish the race.
 
After his crash in Race 1 Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was unfit to race on Sunday, having suffered a closed thoracic trauma, a fracture of the transverse process of L3 (3rd lumbar vertebrae) and a contusion of the left thumb.
 
The WorldSBK riders will next be in action at the Geico US Round over the 7th to 9thJuly weekend.

 

         

 

 

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