Jonathan Rea (KRT) and Tom Sykes (KRT) both reached the second race podium at the Misano round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, with Jonathan finishing second and Tom third. They continue to sit 1-2 in the championship, with 50 points between them after the seventh intense weekend of the season.

Under the new championship rules in allocating grid places for race two, race one winner Sykes and third placed Rea had to start today’s 21 lap contest from ninth and seventh places respectively. The KRT riders moved forward with determination in the first corners, to put Tom third and Jonathan fourth after just one lap.

Up front Xavi Fores and Jordi Torres were doing the early front-running but neither would ultimately finish, in a race that was eventually won by local rider Marco Melandri. Only 12 riders were classified after seven others failed to make the finish in the hot conditions today.

With Torres a late retiree Rea ended up with 20 points for his second place over the line, having passed Sykes on lap 15, but he was unable to get quite close enough to challenge for the win. Sykes finished very close to his team-mate at the end of the 21-laps, with all top three riders covered by just 1.285 seconds after another intense Misano race.

Rea leads the championship as it passes into the second half of the season after this round, with 296 points to Sykes’ 246. With Chaz Davies ruled out of the second Misano WorldSBK race after suffering an injury in race one, he is now 61 points behind Tom.

After the completion of the Misano weekend the championship now heads to the ever-popular Laguna Seca circuit in the USA for the eighth round of the championship, with racedays on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th July.


Jonathan Rea, stated: 

“I am really satisfied with the results today but unfortunately we could not challenge for the win because I felt we were struggling a little bit, as the rear tyre was completely out of balance. I was having a lot of rear vibration and chatter. That was really difficult to manage. I focused on trying to pass Tom for many laps and when I went through I tried to hunt down Torres in second place but, unfortunately for him, he had a problem and could not finish. We have to be very satisfied with the result and go back into the garage now to understand exactly why we struggled more today. Yesterday’s bike felt much better but the set-up was virtually the same each day. In the championship standings we are in a good position right now. I also wish Chaz Davies a speedy recovery from injury.”

Tom Sykes, stated: 

“I basically expected more from the beginning of the race. I had a good start and made some nice early passes but unfortunately I was not able to take the best from the tyres or the bike. The first five laps were the downfall of my chances to win the race. Apart from that, towards the end we had good speed but like I explained to the boys in the team, my bike stayed consistent but it was not enough in the beginning. I feel it really affected the race result in those early laps when there was no way to challenge Jordi Torres and Xavi Fores. We have something to work on Laguna. I feel really sorry for Chaz Davies and all I can do is wish him a speedy recovery. The points are opening up behind and that was a big bag of points Jonathan and I took away this weekend.”