[WSBK] Incredible first double for Yamaha and Michael van der Mark at Donington

The day after Michael van der Mark's first victory in the Superbike World Championship, and the first for Yamaha since 2011, it was his teammate Alex Lowes who started from pole position alongside the two Aprilias of Lorenzo Savadori and Eugene Laverty. Loris Baz started fourth, with Chaz Davies and Leon Haslam. The big guns occupied the third row, Tom Sykes seventh ahead of Johnny Rea and Michael van der Mark. Rea's goal was to take his sixtieth World Superbike Championship victory, which would be the all-time record ahead of Carl Fogarty. This would complete a perfect record weekend for Kawasaki in WSBK, after the day before Tom Sykes had improved Troy Corser's former royal performance with 44 pole positions.

The air temperature was 23° and that of the track 35°. There were heavy clouds in places. The fastest to start when the lights went out was Lorenzo Savadori ahead of Leon Haslam, Alex Lowes, Loris Baz, Michael van der Mark and Jonathan Rea.

Alex Lowes at home took second position, then first by overtaking Lorenzo Savadori. Leon Haslam slipped into second. Tom Sykes snatched fourth place from Loris Baz, while Leon Haslam fell without seriousness in turn 11.

With 20 laps to go before the checkered flag, Lowes led from his teammate van der Mark (winner the day before race 1), Savadori, Rea, Sykes, Razgatlioglu, Baz, Melandri and Davies.

The two Yamahas led without problem, but Savadori's Aprilia was only 1.4 behind, ahead of the 3 Kawasakis of Rea and Razgatlioglu, who had just to everyone's surprise overtaken the local Tom Sykes. Baz was eighth, between the two Ducatis of Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri.

Rea moved into third with 15 laps remaining, 1.3 behind leader Alex Lowes. Then he returned very quickly to the R1 and was 0.6 behind 14 laps from the checkered flag. Baz was overtaken by Melandri, therefore ninth.

A few drops of water fell in sector 2. The white flags and rain flags were presented by the commissioners. We were barely halfway through the race. Johnny Rea took the opportunity to overtake Michael van der Mark. He was 0.4 behind leader Alex Lowes. Leon Camier passed Loris Baz, now tenth. Xavi Fores retired due to a technical problem.

With 8 laps remaining, Rea was easily following Alex Lowes, with his best lap of the race so far a second faster than the Englishman's fastest. Van der Mark followed the two Britons very closely. Razgatlioglu was an excellent fourth.

Six laps from the checkered flag, Rea passed Lowes, immediately imitated by van der Mark. The Dutchman pushed the Northern Irishman to the outside and took command. Razgatlioglu joined the group of the first three. Sofuoglu seemed to have found a worthy successor. He overtook Lowes for third place!

Michael van der Mark opened up a sufficient gap at the end of the race to take his magnificent second victory of the weekend, while Toprak Razgatlioglu snatched the second step of the podium from Jonathan Rea, ahead of Alex Lowes, Chaz Davies and Tom Sykes, while Loris Baz finished tenth.

Ranking of race 2:

 

 

Provisional ranking of the World Championship:

Toprak Razgatlioglu

Photos © worlsbk.com / DornaTV