Sykes slips up in title battle

Eugene Laverty (58) made the biggest gains in the points table over the course of a
tragic weekend in Moscow and a solid weekend in Silverstone.

While the World Superbike Championship may no longer be coming to India this year, it doesn’t mean one can’t enjoy the latest twist in a tense title battle between Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli and Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes.

After a run of ten podium finishes in eleven races (five of them wins) Sykes slipped up in the Moscow and Silverstone rounds. The Moscow round was all the more bitter as the second race was marred by torrential rain that saw Andrea Antonelli killed in a horrific crash in the Supersport category.

The second race at Moscow was duly cancelled as WSBK moved to Silverstone where Sykes followed his retirement in the first Moscow event with eleventh and seventh at the home of the British Grand Prix.

Guintoli’s performance over the same three netted him sixth, fourth and sixth places, which were enough for him to reclaim the lead in the WSBK standings. Behind Sykes in the standings now is Eugene Laverty who followed a retirement in Moscow with a second and a third in Silverstone.

Oddly enough, none of the riders in the top three won a single race over the course of the two rounds as that honour went to BMW’s Marco Melandri, Honda’s Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki’s Loris Baz.

Baz’s win made him the seventh different race winner over the course of the seventeen races held in the WSBK season, at the time of going to press.

Over in the Supersport category, where the tragedy with Antonelli has struck, Mahi Racing’s Kenan Sofuoglu had taken pole position at the track near the Russian capital before the tragedy struck.

He followed it up with a win at Silverstone, however, as series points leader Sam Lowes took second on his Yamaha. The win puts Sofuoglu 29 points behind Loews with four races remaining, now that WSBK will not be touching down at the Buddh International Circuit in November.

While it may not rub motor sport enthusiasts up the right way, it is important to remember that racing just like life carries on and there are always second chances.