Moscow Results
World Superbike 2013
www.motorcycle-usa.com By Bart Madson
Marco Melandri claimed victory in an incident filled SBK race at Moscow Raceway. The Italian rider was joined on the podium by his BMW Motorrad GoldBet teammate Chaz Davies and Alstare Ducati’s Ayrton Badovini. The championship points leader going into the race, Tom Sykes, suffered a mechanical DNF – yielding the title lead to rival Sylvain Guintoli, who finished sixth. The Moscow round was overshadowed by the death of competitor Andrea Antonelli, who perished in the World Superport race. Officials cancelled the remaining racing program after the incident, including the second SBK race.
The SBK race occurred under changing conditions, which worsened throughout the race. Rain forced many competitors into the pits for a tire change during the race. Melandri came in on Lap 20, gaining time with his pit stop to close the gap on his teammate. The BMW rider then managed to work his way around Davies for the victory.
Badovini earned his first podium of the year, chasing down Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea for the final rostrom position in the final laps. Michel Fabrizio was the top-finishing Aprilia rider in fifth, with Factory Aprilia man Sylvain Guintoli marking sixth on the results.
Sykes suffered a costly DNF on Lap 4, with his ZX-10R failing. The technical woes of the Kawasaki ace were complemented by a host of DNF results. Several crashes claimed top competitors, including factory Aprilia rider Eugene Laverty and Superpole winner Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing), as well as Alstare Ducati’s Carlos Checa and Pata Honda’s Leon Haslam.
2013 World Superbike Moscow Results:
1. Marco Melandri (BMW)
2. Chaz Davies (BMW)
3. Ayrton Badovini (Ducati)
4. Jonathan Rea (Honda)
5. Michel Fabrizio (Aprilia)
6. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia)
7. Max Neukirchner (Ducati)
8. Loris Baz (Kawasaki)
9. Leon Camier (Suzuki)
10. Jules Cluzel (Suzuki)
11. Sandi (Kawasaki)
DNF Eugene Laverty (Aprilia)
DNF Leon Haslam (Honda)
DNF Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
DNF Davide Giugliano (Aprilia)
DNF Savadori (Kawasaki)
DNF Vittorio Iannuzzo (BMW)
DNF Carlos Checa (Ducati)
World Superbike Championship Points:
1. Sylvain Guintoli, 239
2. Tom Sykes, 235
3. Marco Melandri,207
4. Eugene Laverty, 190
5. Chaz Davies, 174
6. Loris Baz, 144
7. Jonathan Rea, 138
8. Michel Fabrizio, 131
9. Davide Giugliano, 99
10. Leon Camier, 87
World Superbike Racing News