World Superbike
In a bizarre turn of events, both WSB races at Germany’s fabled circuit in the Eiffel Mountains ended up with red flags determining the final finishing order. After all the dust had cleared, the results left Yorkshireman Tom Sykes and his factory Kawasaki one point ahead of French ex-pat / British resident Sylvain Guitoli on one of the factory Aprilias.
The first race was stopped not far after half distance after Jonathon Rea (Pata Honda) and Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) both crashed in oil left from a blown engine from another rider. Camier has suspected neck injuries, while Rea has a broken femur, likely ending his season.
Reverting back to the lap before the accidents ended up with Sykes ahead of BMW’s Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies, with Guintoli and Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Aprilia) closing out the top five.
In the second race, a second oil spill in the same corner as Race One ended things, this time with BMW’s Welsh rider Chaz Davies the beneficiary of the call. He’d been battling hard with Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty and team-mate Marco Melandri when the red flag ended the race, under pressure from the other two but always in the lead. They were followed in by Sykes and Sylvain Guintoli, who’s in the battle with Sykes for the 2013 title.
World Supersport
U.K. racer Sam Lowes took a huge win at the Nurburgring, with a seven + second victory over veteran French rider Fabian Foret. Kev Coghlan secured a third place, the Kawasaki rider’s first-ever podium in World Supersport.
Championship contender and former champion Kenan Sofuglu crashed out of the race early on. Although he remounted, the Turkish rider retired on lap 10 with his bike too badly damaged to continue.
Lowes’ victory and Sofuoglu’s retirement gives Lowes a 54 point lead – more than two full race points – ahead of the Turkish rider, with only three races left in the series.
World Superbike Championship Point Standings after 20 of 28 races
1. Tom Sykes, Yorkshire, Kawasaki Racing Team, 287 points
2. Sylvain Guintoli, France, Factory Aprilia Racing Team, 286
3. Marco Melandri, Italy, BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBKTeam, 257
4. Eugene Laverty, U.K., Factory Aprilia Racing Team, 247
5. Chaz Davies, U.K, BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBKTeam, 221
6. Loris Baz, France, Kawasaki Racing Team, 180
7. Jonathon Rea, U.K., Pata Honda World Superbike,176
8. Michel Fabrizio, Factory Red Devils Roma Aprilia, 156
9. Jules Cluzel, France, FIXI Crescent Suzuki 123
10. Davide Giugliano, Italy, Factory Althea Racing Aprilia, 121
