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Sepang WSBK: Rea puts one hand on world title

Runaway World Superbike series leader Jonathan Rea put one hand on his first title as he snatched a last-lap victory from Chaz Davies in the first race at Sepang today as leader Tom Sykes lost a three-second lead in the space of two laps as his rear tyre gave up the ghost, leaving the former champion only able to lap some ten seconds slower than his competition.

Sykes had disappeared off the start, leaving Davies and Rea to fight it out for the podium spots but as the laps clicked down, Sykes’ rear Pirelli lost all grip and his last lap was 2’15 compared to Rea and Davies who were still in the 2’07s. Davies passed Sykes but Rea couldn’t immediately follow as Sykes held up his Kawasaki team-mate.

Rea had to wait until he got a chance to exploit his superior rear grip before he made his move and then set off after Davies. The Castletown resident closed down Davies’ 0.756 lead in just a couple of corners and went underneath the Aruba Ducati man into the last corner but ran wide. Davies slid back up the inside but Rea got better drive and got to the line with a 0.121 lead.

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The result means that Rea now has a serious chance of lifting his first world title in race two. Rea is now 139 points clear of Sykes in the championship chase and only needs another 11 points more than the Huddersfield man to become World Superbike Champion for the first time.

Veteran Max Biaggi was a crafty as Rea with his tyre management and hauled in both Jordi Torres and Sykes for third place becoming, at 44, the oldest man to ever stand on a WSBK podium. The Roman Emperor started well and was in the mix on the run to turn one but was beaten back by Aprilia team-mates Torres and Leon Haslam, who also had reigning champion Sylvain Guintoli for company.

Torres, like Sykes, set a blistering pace to charge away from Haslam to ride a lonely race in fourth but his rear let go towards the end and it didn’t take long for Biaggi, who won a short but frantic dice with Haslam, to catch the young Spaniard as he slipped down the order. Guintoli also played a waiting game and came home in fourth for his best result of the year so far.

Sykes eventually crossed the line in fifth place while Voltcom Suzuki’s Alex Lowes recovered from a poor start to get past big mate Haslam late on for sixth place. Matteo Baiocco took eighth on the Althea Ducati, one place ahead of team-mate Nico Canepa, with Torries eventually finishing in tenth.

David Salom ended in 11th, one ahead of Randy De Puniet, who ran on at the last corner on the final lap, while Leon Camier took 13th place, battling with a top speed deficit of up to 30kph in some place. Michael Van Der Mark retired mid-race.

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