Losing The Battle, Winning the War
Tom Sykes knows dejection, frustration and iron resolved when it is rolled up in one tight ball of barely contained fury. After closing to within spitting distance of leading the 2013 points standings, Sykes found hard times at the last outing Portimao. The Kawasaki factory rider started the weekend fiercely, snatching pole with the kind of raw speed that strikes fear in the heart of men and makes small children whimper in fear. However the superbike field is made up of sterner stuff and come race day the British rider found a much warmer welcome that he had before. Instead of romping to a win Sykes found himself embattled for position and, in the end, had to settle for a third place finish. Yet that proved to be a minor footnote to the weekend as race two saw Sykes fail to start from his hard earned pole position. In a bizarre twist of events Sykes sustained massive crash during the warm up lap that virtually destroyed his bike. Much credit goes to his team who were able to snatch the bike upon his return and make it somewhat rideable so that the championship hopefully could get back out to the track, albeit in last place. After returning to pit lane for further repairs and ultimately rejoining an astonishing seven laps down, Sykes could only pray for a miracle to salvage any points possible at the end of the day. While those prayers may have fallen on mostly deaf ears Sykes still managed to leave the weekend in second place, 28 points adrift from the championship lead. While he seemingly lost significant ground at Portimao, Sykes has established a penchant for winning races this (and past) seasons. Should he string a few more wins together in quick succession, which he has already done once so far in 2013, that 5 point difference to the second step on the podium can add up quickly. Sykes may be down going into Imola, but he is far from out.
Eugene Laverty also had to make a large pitcher of lemonade at Portimao, following a weekend that was almost as topsy turvy as the one that Sykes endured. Exiting an action packed superpole, Laverty lined up second on the grid for the start of the race, putting him in close proximity to both Syke's bike and his luck. Laverty had a rocking start to the race, taking the lead at one point and looking to make a strong charge to the checkered flag. That is until mid-way through the race when a mechanical failure sidelined the Irish rider, leaving him with egg on both his face and the scorecard. Undeterred, and with much on the line, Laverty remounted for a brilliant return in race 2. Unfortunately for him this was hardly his first mechanical during his tenure at Aprilia, not even his first of the year. Despite the setback, and with the better part of the day to recover mentally, Laverty kept his head in the game and fought hard to take the top step in race 2. The win leaves Laverty still in a strong third place, 20 points ahead of fourth placed Melandri and only 11 points adrift of Sykes in second. Not a bad haul for single race weekend. Best of all the Aprilia RSV4 Factory continues to prove itself as a highly capable package, the Noale factory adding yet another 1-2 finish to their belt in Portimao. If Laverty can keep the rubber side up and the pistons churning in Assen he should be in with a shout of gaining serious ground in the championship.
Sylvain Guintoli may appear to be the rabbit being chased by the hounds, but in reality he is more of a tortoise. Cecil Tortoise to be exact. Anyone who nursed their childhood on Looney Tunes will be familiar with the character - slow talking, a loping "run", and a maniacally customer "shell" complete with open exhaust jet propulsion. In almost every appearance Cecil slow talks his way into a race with the true rabbit, hop-lopes around the screen while Bugs Bunny frenetically runs from scene to scene and then somehow steals the race. This is Sylvain Guintoli in 2013. While Sykes and the others set a maniacal pace, winning accolades for fast laps and pole positions, Guintoli merely shows up, rides hard, collects his points and goes home. The Frenchman has not won a race since the season opener in Phillip Island, yet has maintained his lead in the championship and in fact extended it when his closest rivals have come close. He rides just hard enough to ensure that he gets the job done, and done well. This above anything else has served him in good stead so far. Whether it will be enough to stave off the competition in such a physical track as Assen is unsure, but his consistency leaves little doubt of whether he can minimize any damage if he or his bike is not at 100%. If he can find the race winning form that he showed in Australia, however, then Aprilia may just have found their next champion.
Tom Sykes knows dejection, frustration and iron resolved when it is rolled up in one tight ball of barely contained fury. After closing to within spitting distance of leading the 2013 points standings, Sykes found hard times at the last outing Portimao. The Kawasaki factory rider started the weekend fiercely, snatching pole with the kind of raw speed that strikes fear in the heart of men and makes small children whimper in fear. However the superbike field is made up of sterner stuff and come race day the British rider found a much warmer welcome that he had before. Instead of romping to a win Sykes found himself embattled for position and, in the end, had to settle for a third place finish. Yet that proved to be a minor footnote to the weekend as race two saw Sykes fail to start from his hard earned pole position. In a bizarre twist of events Sykes sustained massive crash during the warm up lap that virtually destroyed his bike. Much credit goes to his team who were able to snatch the bike upon his return and make it somewhat rideable so that the championship hopefully could get back out to the track, albeit in last place. After returning to pit lane for further repairs and ultimately rejoining an astonishing seven laps down, Sykes could only pray for a miracle to salvage any points possible at the end of the day. While those prayers may have fallen on mostly deaf ears Sykes still managed to leave the weekend in second place, 28 points adrift from the championship lead. While he seemingly lost significant ground at Portimao, Sykes has established a penchant for winning races this (and past) seasons. Should he string a few more wins together in quick succession, which he has already done once so far in 2013, that 5 point difference to the second step on the podium can add up quickly. Sykes may be down going into Imola, but he is far from out.
Eugene Laverty also had to make a large pitcher of lemonade at Portimao, following a weekend that was almost as topsy turvy as the one that Sykes endured. Exiting an action packed superpole, Laverty lined up second on the grid for the start of the race, putting him in close proximity to both Syke's bike and his luck. Laverty had a rocking start to the race, taking the lead at one point and looking to make a strong charge to the checkered flag. That is until mid-way through the race when a mechanical failure sidelined the Irish rider, leaving him with egg on both his face and the scorecard. Undeterred, and with much on the line, Laverty remounted for a brilliant return in race 2. Unfortunately for him this was hardly his first mechanical during his tenure at Aprilia, not even his first of the year. Despite the setback, and with the better part of the day to recover mentally, Laverty kept his head in the game and fought hard to take the top step in race 2. The win leaves Laverty still in a strong third place, 20 points ahead of fourth placed Melandri and only 11 points adrift of Sykes in second. Not a bad haul for single race weekend. Best of all the Aprilia RSV4 Factory continues to prove itself as a highly capable package, the Noale factory adding yet another 1-2 finish to their belt in Portimao. If Laverty can keep the rubber side up and the pistons churning in Assen he should be in with a shout of gaining serious ground in the championship.
Sylvain Guintoli may appear to be the rabbit being chased by the hounds, but in reality he is more of a tortoise. Cecil Tortoise to be exact. Anyone who nursed their childhood on Looney Tunes will be familiar with the character - slow talking, a loping "run", and a maniacally customer "shell" complete with open exhaust jet propulsion. In almost every appearance Cecil slow talks his way into a race with the true rabbit, hop-lopes around the screen while Bugs Bunny frenetically runs from scene to scene and then somehow steals the race. This is Sylvain Guintoli in 2013. While Sykes and the others set a maniacal pace, winning accolades for fast laps and pole positions, Guintoli merely shows up, rides hard, collects his points and goes home. The Frenchman has not won a race since the season opener in Phillip Island, yet has maintained his lead in the championship and in fact extended it when his closest rivals have come close. He rides just hard enough to ensure that he gets the job done, and done well. This above anything else has served him in good stead so far. Whether it will be enough to stave off the competition in such a physical track as Assen is unsure, but his consistency leaves little doubt of whether he can minimize any damage if he or his bike is not at 100%. If he can find the race winning form that he showed in Australia, however, then Aprilia may just have found their next champion.
