Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes bagged the gentleman’s set at Motorland Aragon’s World Superbike round comprising two wins, championship lead, pole position and lap record despite the best efforts of team-mate Loris Baz and Aprilia’s Marco Melandri in race two.
It was another lights-to-flag victory for the reigning world champion but closer than the opener with Baz shadowing his team leader all the way and Melandri coming on strong in the closing stages.
Whether Baz had it in his head to put a move in Sykes is to be debated but Melandri was building for pass on the penultimate lap but ran wide through the chicane and didn’t have the speed down the baxk straight.
The tiny Italian did try on the last lap but outbraked himself at the end of the massive back straight and allowed Baz to come through for second with no way back for the former 250 Grand Prix title holder.
Sylvain Guintoli, on the second works RSV4, had a lonely race for fourth with Jonathan Rea’s early charge dwindling as he lost grip. The Irishman eventually came home in fifth but nearly nine seconds in arrears.
Voltcom Suzuki’s Eugene Laverty struggled to stop and turn his bike in race one with a full fuel tank and seemed to struggle with this again in race two, dropping down the order early doors but recovering to sixth ahead of Davide Giugliano.
Leon Haslam survived a late assault from Toni Elias to take eighth while David Salom snatched tenth and the Evo class win on the last lap when an error from Leon Camier allowed the Spaniard, and Nico Canepa, through.
Alex Lowes suffered a highside early on and limped away while Chaz Davies lost the front on lap four just after setting the fastest lap of the race.
