Tom gets podium in first race
(10) J G O’Shea 9 9-8 (C, D2) ...... Josephine Gordon (13)PEvans49-7(D2) ............. RWinston (234) R Harris 6 9-6 (CD2) .................. L Keniry (20) S Dow 4 9-4 (CD4) ...T Marquand (38) P Crate 9 9-2 (CD2) ....... S W Kelly (38) J Best 8 9-2 (CD6) ................................. J Haynes (15) M Attwater 8 9-1 (CD3) ............. R Havlin (46) J Bridger 10 8-7 (CD6) ............ A Beech (7) (32) M Hoad 6 8-7 (D) .... Aaron Jones (3) (10) K C-Brown 5 8-7 .............. Hollie Doyle BETTING: 5-2 Awesome Allan, 4 Ask The Guru, 5 Roundabout Magic, 13-2 Pharoh Jake, 7 Kinglami, 10 Mossgo, 12 Sandfrankskipsgo, 16 Equally Fast, 20 Others.
1-2fav Chased leaders, pushed along over 2f out, ridden and not quicken over 1f out, closed 100 yards, picked up well final 75 yards, led close home, won at Wolverhampton 7f Novice Stakes (4yo+) (5) in Jan beating Maximinus Thrax by nk, 5 ran. 7-2 Tracked leader, ridden inside final furlong, kept on towards finish, 4th of 8, 2l behind Mount Tahan at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp (2) in Dec. 3-1fav Held up in rear, headway over 2f out, soon no impression, 5th of 6, 4l behind Ay Ay at Lingfield 1m 2f hcap (2) pol in Jan. 20-1 Pulled hard, led over 11f out and soon clear, reduced lead 8f out, pushed along over 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, weakened final furlong, last of 4, 8l behind Red Verdon at Lingfield 1m 4f cnd stks (4yo+) (2) pol. 12-1 Tracked leaders, driven over 2f out, ridden and one pace over 1f out, no impression with leaders final furlong, 4th of 5, 5l behind Contrast at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) pol. Tom Sykes (left), of Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK, on the podium with Marco Melandri (centre) and Chaz Davies. Below: Sykes in action in Australia TOM SYKES launched his World Superbike Championship campaign with a podium finish at Phillip Island – and followed it up with a fourth place in the second race.
The Huddersfield racer lies second in the rankings after the season opener in Melbourne.
Ahead of him Marco Melandri did the double, pipping last year’s world champion Jonathan Rea to the line by 0.02sec in yesterday’s second race.
The Italian had already produced a masterclass on Saturday when he passed Rea and Kawasaki rider Sykes in quick succession to take 25 points.
The Ducati rider took the chequered flag by 1.1 seconds but it was a much tighter affair in round two, where the three men on the podium were split by 0.3 seconds.
Seven different riders held the lead across the 22 laps - Ireland’s Eric Laverty set the early pace but crashed on turn six and fell down the pack.
Going into lap 5, eight riders were in a leading pack split by less than a second being led by Chaz Davies (Ducati) until Xavi Fores (Ducati) took him round the outside.
After pit stops had shuffled the pack, Fores was still in front with a slender advantage while Melandri was moving up the pack from fifth.
Rea - who is starting the defence of his crown and looking to win a fourth successive title - took the lead with three laps to go but had Melandri all over his tail, with the Italian finally getting past as the pair headed into the last lap and just holding on as they took the chequered flag.
The results mean Melandri sits at the top of the tree after Australia on 50 points, Sykes is second on 33 while compatriot Rea is on 31. CHRIS HANSON finished down in 53rd spot at the Qatar Masters.
The 32-year-old Woodsome Hall pro ended the European Tour event six under par, carding rounds of 73, 67, 71 and 71 at Doha GC.
At the top of the leaderboard England’s Eddie Pepperell held off a determined challenge from compatriot Oliver Fisher to claim his first European Tour title.
Pepperell carded a closing 70 to finish 18 under par and a shot ahead of playing partner Fisher, who missed from 10 feet for birdie on the last to force a play-off.
The pair began the day tied for the lead but Fisher’s chance looked to have quickly disappeared when he bogeyed three holes in a row from the fourth, with Pepperell following eight straight pars with a birdie on the ninth.
However, Fisher rallied superbly with five birdies on the back nine, including a tap-in on the par-three 17th to close within a shot of the lead.
Pepperell was unable to birdie the par-five 18th after laying up into the rough, but Fisher’s own birdie attempt swung agonisingly across the hole.
A relieved Pepperell told Sky Sports: “I need a glass of wine and more than that I think! What a day.
“Oli made it really tough and I made it tough for myself at the end there with the second shot on 18. I felt good all day, I was in a great place mentally and kept telling myself I’m going to win this and Oli certainly made life more interesting.
“Relief I guess is the number one emotion.”