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Brno WSBK: Lowes scores maiden win as Rea and Sykes collide

Alex Lowes took his maiden World Superbike victory in a dramatic Brno Sunday race, as championship leader Jonathan Rea crashed out after a collision with Kawasaki teammate Tom Sykes.

Alex Lowes, Pata Yamaha

Alex Lowes, Pata Yamaha

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Alex Lowes, Pata Yamaha
Alex Lowes, Pata Yamaha
Alex Lowes, Pata Yamaha
Michael van der Mark, Pata Yamaha
Michael van der Mark, Pata Yamaha
Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing
Marco Melandri, Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team

Lowes seized the lead on the run into the first corner at the start, but was quickly demoted by Yamaha teammate Michael van der Mark at Turn 3, while Rea had made little progress from ninth on the grid in seventh.

The Yamahas swapped position at the start of lap two, while Ducati's Marco Melandri took third away from Eugene Laverty on his Milwaukee Aprilia, before moving ahead of van der Mark on the following tour.

Drama unfolded behind when Rea engaged KRT teammate Sykes at the Turn 11/12 chicane on the third lap.

Rea lunged up the inside of Sykes, but ran wide and allowed Sykes to cut back into sixth. However, the pair made contact, and Rea crashed – his retirement since Magny-Cours Race 2 last year.

At the front, Melandri carved past Lowes for the lead at Turn 1 on the fifth tour, but the Ducati rider's challenge ended two corners later when he outbraked himself and ran into the barrier.

Sykes survived the collision with his teammate, but would crash at Turn 10 on the sixth lap as he chased down fifth spot.

Lowes and van der Mark were soon released into a comfortable lead, with the former maintaining a half-second advantage for much of the race, while Chaz Davies settled into third.

Lowes extended his gap in the final few laps to over one second to secure his first WSBK win, while van der Mark completed Yamaha's first 1-2 in the series since 2011.

Davies took the chequered flag in a comfortable third to tally up his 75th WSBK podium, equalling double world champion Colin Edwards' haul, while Laverty held Aprilia stablemate Lorenzo Savadori at bay to finish fourth.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi was the second-best Ducati across the line in sixth, while Melandri rejoined after his early off to claim the final point from Leandro Mercado in the closing stages, with Sykes 3.6s back in 16th.

Leon Camier was seventh on the Ten Kate Honda, with Xavi Fores on the Barni Ducati beating Pucetti's Toprak Razgatlioglu to top independent honours in eighth. Team Go Eleven rider Roman Ramos completed the top 10.

The collision between Rea and Sykes was put under investigation by race direction, but was deemed a racing incident.

Rea's non-finish and a third place for Davies sees the KRT rider's championship advantage cut from 81 to 65 points, with van der Mark a further nine adrift in third.

Jordi Torres joined Rea on the sidelines on lap six after being struck by yet another technical issue with his MV Agusta.

Race results

Cla#RiderBikeLapsTimeGap
1 22 united_kingdom Alex Lowes Yamaha 18 36'23.516  
2 60 netherlands Michael van der Mark Yamaha 18 36'25.683 2.167
3 7 united_kingdom Chaz Davies Ducati 18 36'31.165 7.649
4 50 ireland Eugene Laverty Aprilia 18 36'32.938 9.422
5 32 italy Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia 18 36'33.232 9.716
6 21 italy  Michael Ruben Rinaldi Ducati 18 36'36.483 12.967
7 2 united_kingdom Leon Camier Honda 18 36'40.857 17.341
8 12 spain Xavi Fores Ducati 18 36'43.809 20.293
9 54 turkey Toprak Razgatlioglu Kawasaki 18 36'47.129 23.613
10 40 spain Roman Ramos Kawasaki 18 36'48.186 24.670
11 76 france Loris Baz BMW 18 36'48.622 25.106
12 45 united_states Jake Gagne Honda 18 36'48.728 25.212
13 99 united_states PJ Jacobsen Honda 18 36'51.688 28.172
14 68 colombia Yonny Hernandez Kawasaki 18 36'55.175 31.659
15 33 italy Marco Melandri Ducati 18 36'55.923 32.407
16 66 united_kingdom Tom Sykes Kawasaki 18 36'59.821 36.305
17 36 argentina Leandro Mercado Kawasaki 18 37'02.883 39.367
18 37 czech_republic Ondrej Jezek Yamaha 18 37'08.492 44.976
  81 spain Jordi Torres MV Agusta 5 13 laps 13 laps
  1 united_kingdom Jonathan Rea Kawasaki 2 16 laps 16 laps

 

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