Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) won Race 2 at Jerez in a similar fashion to his victory on Saturday, while also taking out the overall Pirelli Best Lap Award. The Welshman won his fourth double of the season in southern Spain with almost six seconds separating him from fellow podium finishers and Kawasaki Racing Team duo Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes.
Davies had an incredible start storming straight through to fourth by the first corner, but it was Sykes who led with Rea close behind in second. By the end of the first lap, the Ducati rider had already shot to the front and began to build his lead.
The Kawasakis then battled it out for the remainder of the race together, with Rea trying to hunt down his second World Title. The lead swapped and changed between the Championship contenders but the reigning World Champion couldn’t shake off Sykes to take the crown, which he stll leads by 48 points.
By the end of the race, fourth-placed Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team) had caught up to the KRT duo to fight it out for the podium, but he narrowly missed out as Sykes took third behind his teammate Rea in second. As a result, the 2016 Championship could not be won at the Gaerne Spanish Round and the Northern Irishman will need to wait until the last round at Qatar to be crowned Champion.
Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) had a solid ride in Race 2, improving from Saturday to come home in fifth ahead of Honda World Superbike Team’s Michael van der Mark in sixth, who celebrated his 50th WorldSBK race start.
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) finished in seventh ahead of Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) who was the first Spaniard home in eighth. Torres battled with fellow Spaniard Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) earlier on in the race to break into the top ten. Unfortunately for Fores, his race ended early after technical issues forced him to retire.
Anthony West (Pedercini Racing) ended Sunday in ninth while Lorenzo Savadori (Ioda Racing Team) rounded out the top ten. Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN) came home in P11 with Josh Brookes (Milwaukee BMW) crossing the line in P12. Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished in P13, which was a solid effort considering he struggled with his recovering shoulder throughout the weekend. Althea BMW Racing Team’s Markus Reiterberger finished in P14 with Gianluca Vizziello (Grillini Racing Team) picking up a point in P15.
The 2016 MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship will now be decided in the final round of the season at Qatar on the 28th to the 30th of October and it’s Jonathan Rea who leads the way.
Quotes from the top three riders:
1st Place
C.Davies (DUCATI): “Since the summer break we have been flying and this is the result. Five out of six wins now, so hats off to the crew because it is thanks to them that we are now in this position, they never stopped working or rested on their laurels. They keep chipping away in Bologna so thanks to them, thanks to Aruba and thank you to Ducati.”
2nd Place
J.Rea (KAWASAKI): “We have to play the long game. I haven’t felt so good at this circuit honestly. So to be two times on the podium is quite good. The gap to Chaz and Ducati is a bit worrying right now. But we can move on to Qatar, which is a track I really enjoy. Last year I had one good race there so we will see. I’m very relaxed now though, because even with the form of Chaz right now and with 48 points I think we can go to Qatar in a relaxed mood and look to pick up the target there.”
3rd Place
T.Sykes (KAWASAKI): “40 points or 48 points that was finally the difference and we are clutching at straws. The problem is that has allowed Chaz to close up even more and he is in great form. We need to find a better bike, a better set up and hopefully something that can allow me to be aggressive from start to finish like Chaz, because at the moment I feel like I am playing with myself during the race, so really disappointed. Overall third is the best we could manage today and that’s racing. We’ve got to move on from this and get stronger.”
#JerezWorldSBK Race 2:
C.Davies Aruba.it Ducati- Racing
J.Rea Kawasaki Racing Team (+5.893)
T.Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team (+6.030)
Championship standings after Race 2 Round 12
J.Rea Kawasaki Racing Team (462 points)
T.Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team (414 points)
C.Davies Aruba.it Racing- Ducati (395 points)
