From Russia With Love
Tom Sykes - It's not hard to imagine the kind of reception that Tom Sykes received following round 7 at Imola. The hardy Brit had battled through injury, mechanical failure and personal errors to stay within sight of the championship leaders week in and week out. Many times he had come within touching distance of the lead only to be slapped back down in the points. With bitter memories of 2012 lurking constantly, Sykes motored on in the only way he could, racking up as many points as possibly despite sometimes disastrous weekends. Now, finally, those results are starting to pay off in a big way. Despite having the most wins for 2013 by a good margin, Tom Sykes leads the championship for the first time this season. More to the point, however, is that Moscow has been a good track for the Kawasaki rider despite being relatively new to the calendar. In 2012 Sykes scored a win for the track's inaugural race against stiff competition and claimed a further second place in race two. On a weekend where chaos was rampant and claimed the weekends of notable top riders, Tom proved that he could keep a cool head come out on top. He will need to draw on that composure again this weekend if he is to maintain his lead in the championship.
Track Record
2012 - Kawasaki ZX10R (Factory)
<ul>[]Race 1: 1st
[/list]
<ul>[]Race 2: 2nd
[/list]
Sylvain Guintoli - Though he drops from the championship lead for the first time since debuting for Aprilia at Phillip Island, Guintoli continues on as Aprilia's top rider in 2013. Sylvain's weekend was scuppered by a mechanical failure in race one that sidelined the title hopeful the reversed his position with the hard charging Sykes. Each of the top contenders have now suffered at least one DNF for the season, a fact that puts Sykes' outright performance and Guintoli's consistency in stark light against the rest of the field as they continue to pull away in the points from their competition. Unfortunately the French rider does not hold fond memories of Moscow following a disappointing debut in 2012. Piloting a customer Ducati 1098R for a team destined to withdraw from competition in a blaze of controversy, Guintoli crashed out of race 1 and finished race 2 in a distant 11th place. However 2013 sees him aboard a much more competitive machine. The key for Guintoli this weekend will be to shake off the DNFs of yesterday and yesteryear to return to the track with confidence. He'll need every drop of it if he is to further challenge Sykes as he makes a bid for the 2013 crown.
Track Record
2012 - Ducati 1098R (Customer)
<ul>[]Race 1: DNF
[/list]
<ul>[]Race 2: 11th
[/list]
Carlos Checa - A man also harboring none-too-fond memories of the Russian tundra, Carlos Checa returns to action following a semi-private test as Misano last week. Putting down 150 laps over the duration the team worked on a battery of tests for the Panigale that stressed everything from rider position to electronics and the mechanicals between. While the factory chose to forego releasing times, the most revealing aspect of the test is likely Checa's response to it, where he seems to be more optimistic about his shoulder's condition than the progress of the bike. That is understandable, considering that despite winning 5 of the previous 6 races at Imola Checa failed to finish in the top 10 of either race this year. He now faces an even more uphill battle on Sunday, taking into account a DNF in 2012 that sidetracked his weekend in Moscow. Yet Carlos Checa is a former world champion who has some positives going for him this weekend. The Panigale's full potential has been unleashed for WSBK competition with the restrictors having been removed, and despite the aforementioned DNF last year he did regroup to finish fourth in race two. With a healed shoulder, test time and unrestricted 1199 this weekend may be a chance for Ducati to begin reclaiming their former glory.
Track Record
2012 - Ducati 1098R ("Customer")
<ul>[]Race 1: DNF
[/list]
<ul>[]Race 2: 4th
[/list]
Tom Sykes - It's not hard to imagine the kind of reception that Tom Sykes received following round 7 at Imola. The hardy Brit had battled through injury, mechanical failure and personal errors to stay within sight of the championship leaders week in and week out. Many times he had come within touching distance of the lead only to be slapped back down in the points. With bitter memories of 2012 lurking constantly, Sykes motored on in the only way he could, racking up as many points as possibly despite sometimes disastrous weekends. Now, finally, those results are starting to pay off in a big way. Despite having the most wins for 2013 by a good margin, Tom Sykes leads the championship for the first time this season. More to the point, however, is that Moscow has been a good track for the Kawasaki rider despite being relatively new to the calendar. In 2012 Sykes scored a win for the track's inaugural race against stiff competition and claimed a further second place in race two. On a weekend where chaos was rampant and claimed the weekends of notable top riders, Tom proved that he could keep a cool head come out on top. He will need to draw on that composure again this weekend if he is to maintain his lead in the championship.
Track Record
2012 - Kawasaki ZX10R (Factory)
<ul>[]Race 1: 1st
[/list]
<ul>[]Race 2: 2nd
[/list]
Sylvain Guintoli - Though he drops from the championship lead for the first time since debuting for Aprilia at Phillip Island, Guintoli continues on as Aprilia's top rider in 2013. Sylvain's weekend was scuppered by a mechanical failure in race one that sidelined the title hopeful the reversed his position with the hard charging Sykes. Each of the top contenders have now suffered at least one DNF for the season, a fact that puts Sykes' outright performance and Guintoli's consistency in stark light against the rest of the field as they continue to pull away in the points from their competition. Unfortunately the French rider does not hold fond memories of Moscow following a disappointing debut in 2012. Piloting a customer Ducati 1098R for a team destined to withdraw from competition in a blaze of controversy, Guintoli crashed out of race 1 and finished race 2 in a distant 11th place. However 2013 sees him aboard a much more competitive machine. The key for Guintoli this weekend will be to shake off the DNFs of yesterday and yesteryear to return to the track with confidence. He'll need every drop of it if he is to further challenge Sykes as he makes a bid for the 2013 crown.
Track Record
2012 - Ducati 1098R (Customer)
<ul>[]Race 1: DNF
[/list]
<ul>[]Race 2: 11th
[/list]
Carlos Checa - A man also harboring none-too-fond memories of the Russian tundra, Carlos Checa returns to action following a semi-private test as Misano last week. Putting down 150 laps over the duration the team worked on a battery of tests for the Panigale that stressed everything from rider position to electronics and the mechanicals between. While the factory chose to forego releasing times, the most revealing aspect of the test is likely Checa's response to it, where he seems to be more optimistic about his shoulder's condition than the progress of the bike. That is understandable, considering that despite winning 5 of the previous 6 races at Imola Checa failed to finish in the top 10 of either race this year. He now faces an even more uphill battle on Sunday, taking into account a DNF in 2012 that sidetracked his weekend in Moscow. Yet Carlos Checa is a former world champion who has some positives going for him this weekend. The Panigale's full potential has been unleashed for WSBK competition with the restrictors having been removed, and despite the aforementioned DNF last year he did regroup to finish fourth in race two. With a healed shoulder, test time and unrestricted 1199 this weekend may be a chance for Ducati to begin reclaiming their former glory.
Track Record
2012 - Ducati 1098R ("Customer")
<ul>[]Race 1: DNF
[/list]
<ul>[]Race 2: 4th
[/list]
