2013 Donington World SBK Video
As the 2013 World Superbike Championship headed into round five at Donington, one rider continuously stole the headlines – Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes.
The Ninja ZX-10R pilot took three Superpoles in four rounds, and was an immediate favorite to display some speed at Donington Park this past weekend.
And the exceptions were spot on. Not only did Sykes earn his fourth Superpole of 2013 World SBK, which was the 15th of his SBK career, the Brit also carried this momentum into the doubleheader Sunday.
Sykes and his team found something extra in the Ninja ZX-10R, taking his first double win of his career. Sykes completed the task at his home circuit with dominance, taking both wins by huge margins.
En route to the race-two win, Sykes also set a new lap record at Donington – a 1:28.074. To put this into perspective, this WSBK time is quicker than the MotoGP Lap set by Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa in 2006 – a 1:28.714 (MotoGP last occurred at Donington in 2009).
In race one, Sykes finished ahead of BMW Motorrad GoldBet’s Marco Melandri and Aprilia Racing Team’s Sylvain Guintoli. In race two, Sykes finished ahead of Guintoli and Aprilia Racing Team’s Eugene Laverty.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10R Superbike) says: “I have been in World Superbike for a few years now and I got the first double win on home soil is a fairy tale. One click on the front suspension between races made the difference and we could see that in the second race time, which was better than the first one.
“The Ninja ZX-10R is working well and it has been all weekend so I feel very motivated. We are racing in a World Championship and these guys are as fast as you like and very competitive, so it is not as easy at it looked. Kawasaki is a very close unit and we have worked hard and everybody has seen how much better we are in the races. I got the circuit record yesterday and I got the new lap record in race two so I have the full set. I really enjoyed the support from the crowd and I hope they enjoyed the show. No better place to do my first double than at Donington Park.
“A good weekend and we are closer in the championship, just four points from the top. We’re in a strong situation, we have a good base setting and now we are going to some fantastic circuits.”
With his double, Sykes moved into second in the points race after five of 15 rounds, four points behind Guintoli. The battle continues at Portimao, which gets underway in two weeks.
Attached above are video highlights of 2013 Donington World Superbike. Included are also highlights from World Supersport, which was won by Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha’s Sam Lowes.
For a review of 2013 Donington World Superbike, including full results and point standings, click here.