Tom cashes in on Chaz crash

TOM SYKES won a dramatic, incident-packed opening race in the Rimini seventh round of World Superbikes at Misano, finishing ahead of Alex Lowes, with series leader and reigning double champ Jonathan Rea third.

For Sykes (below) it was a second victory of the season and the most unexpected, as for much of the race he had run back in fourth or fifth place.

But as early leader Michael van der Mark tipped off and then in the closing stages Marco Melandri crashed out of third, the title winner of 2013 was in contention.

Ahead of him Chaz Davies was leading halfway round the final lap but then his bike swerved DAVE FERN and the Ducati rider was down. Rea, right behind him, had nowhere to go, hitting Davies, going down himself but then wrestling his bike back on track. Sykes rode through the incident to take the victory for Kawasaki but then on the slow-down lap, he stopped to check on Davies – being moved to the medical centre for treatment on a back injury. “We have to be happy with the result – I rode to my limits and stayed there. I thought I was settling for third but then I saw Chaz and Jonathan go down,” said Sykes, now within 46 points of team-mate Rea in the title stakes.