Superbike: Rea wins Race 1 of the Motul Thai Round in the sprint

Beautiful show at the Chang International Circuit with Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes who battled until the checkered flag, complete with a photo finish in which the reigning World Champion managed to take his third victory of the year by just two tenths .

Despite second place, which he said he was satisfied with after the heat, Sykes was for large stretches superior to his teammate, thanks to a decidedly cleaner and more constant ride, when usually the roles are reversed, with Tom's Ninja It always “dances” a little.
Under the podium, the 2013 world champion said he was confident that there was little left to reach the fantastic race pace of Rea, who today struggled to keep up with him, managing to get the better of him with 4 laps to go with braking at the limits like never before. had never accustomed us to see.

Third was Michael Van der Mark, guilty of an error at the start which left the way open for the Kawasakis: the young Dutchman then resisted the closing attempts of Davies, Giugliano and Guintoli very well, saying he was confident of being able to keep up with the pace with his Honda of the Ninja.
However, little luck for his teammate Nicky Hayden, stopped by a technical problem and visibly annoyed at his return to the pits.

Davies and Giugliano fought for a long time for the final fourth place: the Italian driver, significantly faster than his teammate, suddenly lost the front with two laps to go.
After getting up and restarting with the help of the stewards, he then finished 18th.
Giugliano must not make these mistakes if he really wants to play for something important this year and renew his contract with Ducati.
Fifth place for Markus Reiterberger followed by Alex Lowes who got the better of Sylvain Guintoli, seventh at the finish line, ahead of Jodi Torres.
Excellent performance for the two Aprilias of the Iodaacing team with De Angelis and Savadori closing the top 10 in ninth and tenth place.

Next appointment tomorrow at 10:00, Italian time, with the start of Race 2.

Below is the order of arrival for Race 1:

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 20 laps
2. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +0.222s
3. Michael van der Mark NED Honda Racing CBR1000RR +9.623s
4. Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R +17.167s
5. Markus Reiterberger GER Althea BMW S1000RR +18.894s
6. Alex Lowes GBR PATA Crescent Yamaha R1 +20.754s
7. Sylvain Guintoli FRA PATA Crescent Yamaha R1 +24.221s
8. Jordi Torres ESP Althea BMW S1000RR +31.064s
9. Alex de Angelis RSM IodaRacing Aprilia RSV4 +34.348s
10. Lorenzo Savadori ITA IodaRacing Aprilia RSV4 +34.479s
11. Leon Camier GBR MV Agusta RC F4 RR +37.013s
12. Roman Ramos ESP GO Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R +41.113s
13. Matteo Baiocco ITA VFT Ducati 1199R +44.369s
14. Xavi Fores ESP Barni Ducati 1199R +45.053s
15. Josh Brookes AUS Milwaukee BMW S1000RR +51.939s

16. Sylvain Barrier FRA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +54.341s
17. Saeed al Sulaiti QAT Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1m 06.541s
18. Davide Giugliano ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R +1m 09.530s
19. Dominic Schmitter SUI Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1m 40.904s
20. Peter Sebestyen HUN Team Toth Yamaha R1 +1 lap
21. Sahustchai Kaewjaturaporn THAI Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1 lap
22. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth Yamaha R1 +1 lap
23. Anucha Nakcharoensri THA Yamaha Thailand R1 +3 laps

Not Classified

24. Karel Abraham CZE Milwaukee BMW S1000RR 19 laps completed
25. Nicky Hayden USA Honda Racing CBR1000RR 10 laps completed