WSB Moscow: Sykes takes historic victory in first ever Russian race

Tom Sykes secured a brilliant start to finish race win onboard his factory Kawasaki Superbike in race one of the WSB championship at the Moscow Raceway.

The 26 lap race started on a damp track with just a thin dry racing line and Sykes excelled in the tricky conditions and immediately pulled a gap over the chasing pack.

Unchallenged, Sykes controlled the race from the front to win by 8.8 seconds and secure a full 25 championship points.

He said: “It’s great to win at this track. Over the weekend we did a lot of work on race tyres and I had a good feeling all race. It’s good to take full points.”

Sykes’ win came just hours after he re-signed to stay with the Kawasaki Racing team for another season. Sykes has committed to a new one year deal with and further option for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

“It’s great to have the continuity of staying with Kawasaki for next year. It’s my aim to win the championship. I’m still in with a shout this season so I’ll keep pushing.”

Behind Sykes there was an intriguing battle for second position with a host of riders fighting for a place on the podium. Eugene Laverty, Leon Haslam, Chaz Davies and Jonathan Rea all looked on for a top result, but mistakes, crashes and tyre wear took their toll meaning that second place eventually went to BMW man Marco Melandri with championship leader and arch rival Max Biaggi in third.

Moscow – FIM Superbike World Championship – Race 1

1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 41’07.852
2. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 41’16.730
3. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 41’20.455
4. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 41’20.879
5. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 41’37.434
6. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 41’38.439
7. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 41’40.022
8. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 41’42.556
9. John Hopkins (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 41’48.218
10. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 41’48.995
11. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 41’52.215
12. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 41’55.665
13. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 42’00.502
14. Alexander Lundh (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 42’28.125
15. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 41’39.250
16. David McFadden (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 41’27.699
RT. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 37’57.494
RT. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 21’32.720
RT. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 16’39.543
RT. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 3’30.881
RT. Sylvain Guintoli (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 3’33.072