Qatar WorldSBK: Sykes takes pole on Kawasaki farewell
Tom Sykes has taken pole 🍸position for his Kawasaki farewell at the Qatar World Superbike season finale.
The Englishman ruled the Superpole 2 session courtes🍸y of a 1m 56.124s lap record, set as the chequered flag was waving under the Losail floodlights, putting him 0.131s clear of team-mate and reigningℱ champion Jonathan Rea.
Alex Lowes completed the front row for Pata Yamaha (+0.231s), with Thurs🦹day pace setter Eugene Laverty joined on row two by team-mate Lorenzo Savadori and Xavi Fores (Barni Ducati).
Tom Sykes has taken pole posi൩tion for his Kawasaki farewell at the Qatar World Superbike season finale.
The Englishman ruled the Superpole 2 session courtesy of a 1m 56.124s lap record, set as the chequered flag was waving unde𝄹r the Losail floodlights, putting him 0.131s clear of team-mate and reigning champion Jona💛than Rea.
Alex Lowes completed the front row for Pata ♔Yamaha (+0.231s), with Thursday pace setter Eugene Laverty ༺joined on row two by team-mate Lorenzo Savadori and Xavi Fores (Barni Ducati).
Fores was top Ducati in the Panigale V-Twin's final qualifying session, while Laverty and Savadori are riding in their last event f♔or SMR-Aprilia, after the unofficial news that Sykes and Reiterberger will rac🎃e BMW machines for the team in 2019.
Current (Althea) BMW rider Loris Baz was seventh in Superpole (1.233s), just ahead of Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha), who suffer𒆙ed a heavy highside on Thursday.
Marco Melandri was the top official Ducati rider, back in ninth (1.283s), followed by Superpole 1 leꦐader Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda) and Puccetti Kawasaki's Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Melandri'💝s team-mate Chaz Davies could only manage twelfth (+1.7s) out of the 17-rider field.
Davies s🌜tarts this weekend's races with a 24-point advanta𓂃ge over van der Mark in the fight for title runner-up behind newly crowned four-time champion Rea.
Rea meanwhile is only one win short of the all-time season record of 17 victories set by Doug Polen in 1991 and also seeking🎐 a new record of sev♛en double wins in a year.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the fore⛦front of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marque𝔉z’s injury issues.
