2017 Imola World Superbike Race 2 Results & Recap

2017 Imola World Superbike Race 2 Results

Heading into round five of 2017 World Superbike at Imola, Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea was the clear favorite.

The ZX-10RR Ninja pilot had already won seven of eight races in the opening four rounds, and had doubled at Imola back in 2015—his first year with Kawasaki when he claimed his debut WSBK title.

The Northern Irishman’s biggest threat was Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s Chaz Davies. And the Welshman was quickly up to speed Saturday, claiming the pole and the race-one win. Davies carried this momentum into Sunday’s race two, completing his first double of 2017 World SBK.

Rea tried all he could, but had to settle for two runner-up positions as he chases a third-straight WSBK title. Claiming third in 2017 Imola World Superbike race two was Rea’s teammate, 2013 WorldSBK Champion Tom Sykes.

Speaking after Sunday’s race, Davies said “What a weekend! For the first time this year, I feel we’ve been the benchmark from the beginning. We were able to find our rhythm on Friday, and it sort of snowballed from there.

“The team has done an awesome job, the bike worked superbly in both races, in different conditions, but today it was quite interesting. We got mixed up at the first start, but after the re-start we got a good launch and I was able to make some good moves that put us in a good position. Sykes’ pace was strong, so I had to put my head down to hunt him and, once I caught him, I was able to set my own pace and that was good enough. Thanks to all the Italian fans for showing up this weekend, their push was something special.”

When the 19-lap race begin, there was a red flag on lap one due to Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki’s Ayrton Badovini crashing. His Ninja left oil on track, prompting a restart and shortened 18-lap race.

Sykes took the early led, but Davies, who started from ninth on the grid due to the new race-two grid rules, was into fourth on the first lap, and passed Sykes for the lead on lap seven. From there, Davies went onto to win by 3.739 seconds ahead of Rea, and 4.342 ahead of Sykes.

Fourth went to Barni Racing Team Ducati’s Xavi Fores, who battled intensely with Aurba.it Racing Ducati’s Marco Melandri. The Italian, who finished race one in third, had to settle for fifth, crossing the line ahead of Pata Yamaha oFficial WorldSBK Team’s Alex Lowes and Milwaukee Aprilia’s Eugene Laerty, who suffered a huge crash in race one Saturday.

Rounding out the top 10 were Althea BMW Racing Team’s Jordi Torres, who didn’t start race one due to an illness, Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Leandro Mercado (IODARacing).

As for the solo American in 2017 World Superbike, Red Bull Honda’s Nicky Hayden finished 12th aboard the CBR1000RR SP2.

MV Agusta Reparto Corse’s Leon Camier crashed out of second place early on having made a superb start, with Alex De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC-Project) also crashing shortly after the Englishman. Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) also crashed, and Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was forced to retire due to a technical issue.

After his double runner-up finishes at Imola, Rea continues to lead the championship with 235 points, 74 ahead of Davies, and 75 ahead of Sykes.

The 2017 World Superbike Championship breaks now for two weeks ahead of round six at the UK’s Donington Park.

2017 Imola World Superbike Race 2 Results