2013 World Superbike Championship Results
Spoiler Alert: 2013 World Superbike results from the Assen TT Circuit in the Netherlands listed below
Following a two-week break, the 2013 World Superbike Championship headed to the Assen TT Circuit in the Netherlands for round 3 of 15.
And since the opening day of practice, one rider was dominate – Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes. The Brit not only topped Friday’s wet sessions, but he was also quickest in a dry Superpole, showing he could have the advantage in regardless of track conditions at Sunday’s double header.
Dominate is not even the word for Sykes in Superpole – the pole was the ZX-10R Ninja pilot’s 13th of his career. Last season, Sykes achieved nine Superpole wins, which is a record in any World SBK Championship. And for 2013, this was Sykes’ second Superpole win, the first arriving at Aragon two weeks ago.
Sykes maintained this performance into a dry double-header at Assen, winning race 1 at the 2.82-mile circuit containing 17 corners (11 left, six right), and taking second in race 2. Sykes won the first race by almost nine seconds ahead of Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea and Aprilia Racing Team’s Sylvain Guintoli.
In race 2, Aprilia Racing Team’s Eugene Laverty, who suffered two DNFs at Aragon, beat Sykes to the line by 0.089 of a second. In third was Sykes’ teammate Loris Baz, who finished a further 5.848 seconds behind.
2013 Assen World Superbike Race 1 Recap:
Sykes’ performance in race 1 was beyond quick. En route to the sixth race win of his career, and the first of 2013 WSBK, Sykes was the first one to turn 1, and went onto to lead all 22 laps.
The 27-year-old finished 8.786 seconds ahead of the man who started from second on the grid, Rea, and Phillip Island race-two winner, Laverty.
Rea was able to chase down the second Aprilia Racing team rider, Sylvain Guintoli, eventually passing him on turn 13. He then took take Laverty a bit later. Guintoli would finish third, followed by Laverty and the Frenchman Baz.
Althea Racing Aprilia’s Davide Giugliano, who led the second qualifying practice, was in top form during the opening laps, but fell off the pace towards the end, eventually finishing sixth.
The man who doubled at Aragon, BMW Motorrad GoldBet’s Chaz Davies, recovered from a warm-up crash to finish seventh ahead of FIXI Crescent Suzuki’s Jules Cluzel. Rounding out the top 10 were Cluzel’s teammate Leon Camier, who continues to recover from a left knee injury, and the top Ducati rider, the Alstare 1199 Panigale R piloted by 2011 World SBK Champion Carlos Checa.
With his win, Sykes gave Kawasaki its first victory at the Assen TT Circuit in seven years. The last rider to win there was Chris Walker in 2006.
2013 Assen World Superbike Race 2 Recap:
Race two witnessed a close battle between Sykes and Laverty, who pulled away at the front in the early laps. Sykes stayed on the lead until lap 19, when Laverty decided to take the plunge and made a move on the Brit at Turn 6.
Sykes managed to stay with the Irishman until the end and tried his final shot at the win at Turn 16, with the two riders crossing the line side by side. By 0.089 of second, Laverty scored his fifth career win, the second one in 2013 after Phillip Island Race 2.
Baz successfully defended his third place over Rea, who ended on a positive note a difficult round for the Pata Honda World Superbike Team. A below-par race for Davies and Guintoli, who finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Camier rode bravely from last place on the grid to a seventh-place finish, while his teammate Cluzel was forced to pull in during lap 16 due to a technical problem. Melandri had a perfect start of the race but struggled to keep the pace, eventually finishing eight ahead of Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) and Checa.
An unfortunate Giugliano crashed out of turn 2 during lap six while in third place. The Italian rider was OK straight after the crash unlike his Aprilia RSV4 that went on fire.
With his 3-6 finish at Assen, combined with a 2-2 at Aragon and a 1-2 at Phillip Island, Guintoli has the championship lead with 111 points, 28 ahead of Laverty, Davies and Sykes, the latter three tied with 83 points.
The 2013 World Superbike Championship now breaks for two weeks before round 4 at Monza.
2013 Assen World Superbike Race 1 Results:
1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35’35.042
2. Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) Honda CBR1000RR 35’43.828
3. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 35’43.834
4. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 35’44.267
5. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35’49.273
6. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 35’51.192
7. Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 35’57.612
8. Jules Cluzel (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 35’59.793
9. Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 36’05.353
10. Carlos Checa (Team Ducati Alstare) Ducati 1199 Panigale R 36’10.319
11. Max Neukirchner (MR-Racing) Ducati 1199 Panigale R 36’19.397
12. Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 36’27.622
13. Ayrton Badovini (Team Ducati Alstare) Ducati 1199 Panigale R 36’34.778
14. Ivan Clementi (HTM Racing) BMW S1000 RR 36’37.052
15. Mark Aitchison (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 36’56.903
16. Federico Sandi (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 37’00.759
17. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Grillini Dentalmatic SBK) BMW S1000 RR 37’17.752
RT. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR
2013 Assen World Superbike Race 2 Results:
1. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 35’36.814
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35’36.903
3. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35’42.662
4. Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) Honda CBR1000RR 35’42.704
5. Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 35’44.173
6. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 35’44.218
7. Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 35’57.909
8. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 36’04.081
9. Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 36’07.047
10. Carlos Checa (Team Ducati Alstare) Ducati 1199 Panigale R 36’09.215
11. Ayrton Badovini (Team Ducati Alstare) Ducati 1199 Panigale R 36’16.738
12. Max Neukirchner (MR-Racing) Ducati 1199 Panigale R 36’20.718
13. Ivan Clementi (HTM Racing) BMW S1000 RR 36’36.983
14. Federico Sandi (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 36’38.667
15. Mark Aitchison (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 36’39.478
RT. Jules Cluzel (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 24’31.112
RT. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 8’07.727
RT. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Grillini Dentalmatic SBK) BMW S1000 RR 3’39.175
2013 World Superbike Point Standings (after three of 15 rounds):
- Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia: 111
- Eugene Laverty, Aprilia: 83
- Chaz Davies, BMW: 83
- Tom Sykes, Kawasaki: 83
- Jonathan Rea, Honda: 63
- Loris Baz, Kawasaki: 58
- Michel Fabrizio, Aprilia: 53
- Marco Melandri, BMW: 51
- Jules Cluzel, Suzuki: 41
- Davide Giugliano, Aprilia: 33
- Leon Camier, Suzuki: 30
- Carlos Checa, Ducati: 29
- Leon Haslam, Honda: 29
- Max Neukirchner, Ducati: 29
- Ayrton Badovini, Ducati: 20
- Ivan Clementi, BMW: 14
- Federico Sandi, Kawasaki: 8
- Alexander Lundh, Kawasaki: 7
- Glen Allerton, BMW: 6
- Jamie Stauffer, Honda: 4
- Vittorio Iannuzzo, BMW: 2
- Mark Aitchison, Ducati: 2