The World Superbike proceedings were cut short at Moscow Raceway after popular WSS competitor Antonio Antonelli was killed on the first lap of the Supersport race.
Weather conditions were bad, and Antonelli crashed on the straight and was unavoidably hit by a following rider.
The Supersport race and the second Superbike race were cancelled.
Weather also played a big hand in the first Superbike race, as heavy rain moved in during the course of the action. With the new one-bike rule, that meant riders had the option of pitting for tire changes as opposed to swapping bikes in the past. That resulted in the BMW team-mates of Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies swapping positions, Davies losing out to his Italian team-mate after the change as the weather got ever worse.
The race was chaotic right from the start, with series leader Tom Sykes retiring with an exploding and on-fire engine, while Eugene Laverty, Carlos Checa, Jules Cluzel, Davide Giugliano, Leon Camier, and Leon Haslam all crashed out in various incidents.
Sykes’ retirement and a careful sixth-place for Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli (riding with an injured shoulder after a training accident last week) put the French ace back in the series lead, only four points ahead of the popular Yorkshireman.
Championship standings after 15 of 29 races)
1. Sylvain Guintoli, France, Factory Aprilia Racing Team, 239 points
2. Tom Sykes, U.K., Kawasaki Racing Team, 235
3. Marco Melandri, Italy, BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team, 207
4. Eugene Laverty, U.K., Factory Aprilia Racing Team, 190
5. Chaz Davies, U.K., BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team, 174
6. Loris Baz, France, Kawasaki Racing Team, 1447. Jonathon Rea, U.K., Pata Honda World Superbike Team, 138
8. Michel Fabrizio, Italy, Factory Red Devils Roma Aprilia, 131
9. Davide Giugliano, Althea racing Aprilia, 99
10. Leon Camier, U.K., Fixi Crescent Suzuki, 87
Next event, August 4, Silverstone, U.K.
