[WSBK] Brno Superbike: Jonathan Rea applauds the “culprit” Tom Sykes from the side of the track!

About Paolo Gozzi , @paologozzi1 / Corsedimoto.com

After the contact and the fall, the world champion appeared behind the wall to “greet” his teammate.

Jonathan Rea had just celebrated an all-time record 60 world victories, but Tom Sykes sent him to the ground on what could have been championship breakthrough weekend. During the third lap, the Cannibal crossed the line with his teammate. He was convinced that he had gotten out of the way and could start his race, but the other driver responded by touching him. Not much, but enough to send him into the gravel. Jonathan didn't take it well and, the next round, stood behind the security wall to applaud him with sarcasm. He did it just in time, because a few laps later Tom Sykes folded, doing it on his own. A cursed Sunday for the 2013 World Champion.

WHAT HAPPENED – The day before, Rea took advantage of Chaz Davies' setback (only eighth) to climb to +81 points in the standings. In Race 2, he did not start from the third row as usual, and he took two slow laps in seventh behind Tom Sykes, repeatedly trying to overtake him. Already at the last corner, at the end of the first lap, their trajectories had crossed, Sykes had cut Rea off, to the point of raising his arm to apologize. A lap and a half later, the fatal contact occurred. That the two “comrades” (let's call them that….) do not like each other is well known, but that it could come to this was unimaginable.

A YELLOW RAGE – Contact is costly for Kawasaki: Rea started with the front C tire, harder than the B worn by all the other leading riders. So he could have made a difference at the end of the race, perhaps by attacking Chaz Davies and further increasing his spoils. Instead, the advantage fell to 65 points, practically the same situation as the day before (64). Between the reduction in laps and the starts from the center of the group imposed by specific regulations so as not to let him win easily, Rea didn't really need such an ambitious "teammate". Who knows how happy the Japanese will be…..

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