Aprilia’s Marco Melandri denied his team-mate, Sylvain Guintoli from closing a big gap on Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes in the overall championship standings, after the Italian did the double and bagged a maximum total of 50 points during both World Superbike races at Jerez.

The former MotoGP contender enjoys the Spanish track but found race two much more difficult because of the hot weather conditions. With temperatures rising it meant that the diminutive rider found the track lacked grip and was slippery in some areas.

The rider started both races from the second row and pounded through the rest of the pack to out pace Sykes and in the end his Aprilia garage buddy. There appeared no team orders which meant that Melandri was allowed to overtake Guintoli to stop him from getting closer to the points tally of the reigning champ.

“After Laguna race two I came here wanting to do my best and I knew I could get a good race result. Race two was a bit difficult as it was warmer and a bit more slippery and I got the better of Tom and Sylvain in the end. It was an awesome double podium for me today and I cant wait to the next round,” said Melandri at the track.