2018 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results
The 2018 World Superbike Championship headed to the USA this past weekend for the only time this season.
The focus ahead of round eight of 13 at Laguna Seca was on the dominate teams so far this season – the Kawasaki Racing Team of Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes, and the Aruba.it Racing Ducati team of Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies.
When the SBK weekend was complete at the track known for its Corkscrew, Rea was able to score his first double at Laguna Seca, and his second this season (the other arriving in Imola).
Superpole winner Davies claimed second in both races. Finishing third in race one was Yamaha’s Alex Lowes, and in race two the final podium position went to Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty.
Rea earned the first race aboard his Kawasaki ZX-10RR by nearly three seconds, and race two by five seconds. This was his eight victory of the season, giving him a 50-percent winning record for 2018 WorldSBK so far.
Rea also earned his 125th-career WSBK podium, and is now 75 points ahead of Davies with five rounds remaining as he chases his fourth-straight WorldSBK title.
Following Sunday’s race two, Jonathan Rea said: “An incredible weekend. I expected to be strong here but I had no idea how strong. Two weekends in a row now, Brno and here, we have been the reference. Weekends like that do not happen all the time so we have to really absorb it and enjoy the moment.
“A double win at Laguna in the sunshine – it does not get much better. There are so many people out around the track. A massive thanks to all my crew, especially Pere because even though we won yesterday with a margin, last night he changed the bike completely and gave me some more confidence in the front.
“It worked a dream. It was one of those races where I could absorb what was happening, the crowd, the weather, where I was; it really was an incredible race.”
Next up for the WorldSBK calendar is the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, which will host round nine July 6-8.
Following are the official results and point standings:
2018 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results, Race 1
| Pos. | Rider | Manufacturer | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | Kawasaki | GBR | 35’15.071 |
| 2 | Chaz Davies | Ducati | GBR | 00’02.978 |
| 3 | Alex Lowes | Yamaha | GBR | 00’12.212 |
| 4 | Eugene Laverty | Aprilia | GBR | 00’14.309 |
| 5 | Marco Melandri | Ducati | ITA | 00’16.712 |
| 6 | Xavi Fores | Ducati | ESP | 00’18.929 |
| 7 | Tom Sykes | Kawasaki | GBR | 00’25.638 |
| 8 | Michael van der Mark | Yamaha | NLD | 00’26.211 |
| 9 | Jordi Torres | MV Agusta | ESP | 00’31.579 |
| 10 | Jake Gagne | Honda | USA | 00’38.084 |
| 11 | Yonny Hernandez | Kawasaki | COL | 00’44.971 |
| 12 | Román Ramos | Kawasaki | ESP | 00’45.412 |
| 13 | Karel Hanika | Yamaha | CZE | 00’50.768 |
| 14 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia | ITA | 01’06.063 |
| 15 | Loris Baz | BMW | FRA | 01’30.000 |
2018 Laguna Seca World Superbike Results, Race 2
| Pos. | Rider | Manufacturer | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | Kawasaki | GBR | 35’09.683 |
| 2 | Chaz Davies | Ducati | GBR | 00’05.099 |
| 3 | Eugene Laverty | Aprilia | GBR | 00’06.711 |
| 4 | Alex Lowes | Yamaha | GBR | 00’08.011 |
| 5 | Michael van der Mark | Yamaha | NLD | 00’09.746 |
| 6 | Xavi Fores | Ducati | ESP | 00’14.791 |
| 7 | Jordi Torres | MV Agusta | ESP | 00’16.711 |
| 8 | Tom Sykes | Kawasaki | GBR | 00’17.284 |
| 9 | Jake Gagne | Honda | USA | 00’35.421 |
| 10 | Loris Baz | BMW | FRA | 00’39.802 |
| 11 | Leandro Mercado | Aprilia | ARG | 00’42.946 |
| 12 | Román Ramos | Kawasaki | ESP | 00’43.437 |
| 13 | Leon Camier | Honda | GBR | 00’44.563 |
| 14 | Karel Hanika | Yamaha | CZE | 00’47.257 |
| 15 | Yonny Hernandez | Kawasaki | COL | 00’53.415 |
2018 World Superbike Point Standings (after eight of 13 rounds)
| Pos. | Rider | Manufacturer | Nationality | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | Kawasaki | GBR | 320 |
| 2 | Chaz Davies | Ducati | GBR | 245 |
| 3 | Michael van der Mark | Yamaha | NLD | 215 |
| 4 | Tom Sykes | Kawasaki | GBR | 196 |
| 5 | Alex Lowes | Yamaha | GBR | 183 |
| 6 | Marco Melandri | Ducati | ITA | 168 |
| 7 | Xavi Fores | Ducati | ESP | 154 |
| 8 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Kawasaki | TUR | 91 |
| 9 | Eugene Laverty | Aprilia | GBR | 89 |
| 10 | Jordi Torres | MV Agusta | ESP | 80 |
| 11 | Loris Baz | BMW | FRA | 79 |
| 12 | Leon Camier | Honda | GBR | 75 |
| 13 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia | ITA | 74 |
| 14 | Román Ramos | Kawasaki | ESP | 53 |
| 15 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | Ducati | ITA | 50 |
| 16 | Leandro Mercado | Aprilia | ARG | 47 |
| 17 | Jake Gagne | Honda | USA | 37 |
| 18 | Yonny Hernandez | Kawasaki | COL | 23 |
| 19 | Patrick Jacobsen | Honda | USA | 19 |
| 20 | Leon Haslam | Kawasaki | GBR | 14 |
| 21 | Davide Giugliano | Aprilia | ITA | 8 |
| 22 | Karel Hanika | Yamaha | CZE | 5 |
| 23 | Bradley Ray | Suzuki | GBR | 3 |
| 24 | Ondrej Jezek | Kawasaki | CZE | 3 |
| 25 | Luke Mossey | Kawasaki | GBR | 2 |
| 26 | Niccolò Canepa | Yamaha | ITA | 0 |
