SYKES WINS 2013 WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

After missing out on the 2012 trophy by the narrowest of margins - half a point - Sykes came to the final round only needing to finish on the podium in the first race to ensure the title was his. The 28-year-old duly did this, finishing third in race one, then backed up with a second in race two at the circuit which is actually used as a test track by most of his championship rivals.

Qualifying
In dry, hot conditions, Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) set the early pace, followed by Marco Melandri (BMW GoldBet Italia SBK), Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team), Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) and Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team). Laverty and Guintoli were the only chance to take the title from Sykes, behind by 37 and 38 points, respectively.

Aprilias dominated the second qualifying session, filling positions one through four, followed by Sykes, which set an ominous tone for Superpole and the race, at least as far as Sykes was concerned.

Australia's Mark Aitchison, riding the Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R, was strong in Superpole 1, outpacing Sykes, Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) and the factory Aprilias, as did Melandri, Elias and Giugliano. In Superpole 2, Laverty came to the fore, setting the fastest lap ahead of Elias and Guintoli, while Aitchison just snuck into the final nine riders to compete in the final Superpole 3 session. Fellow Aussie Broc Parkes, riding a one-off for Monster Energy Yamaha-Yart at this round, could only muster eleventh best in Superpole 2.

Laverty continued his dominance in Superpole 3 with a 1'40.620 best lap that put the Irishman on pole. Sykes bounced back to finish second quickest (1'40.668), with Giugliano (1'40.839) completing the front row. Melandri, Guintoli and Elias made up row two, with Aitchison starting from ninth after being unable to improve his Superpole 2 time.

On Saturday, the paddock also spared a thought for Carlos Checa, the 2011 World Superbike champion, who announced his retirement from competitive motorcycle racing. The Spaniard hasn't ridden since a crash at Round 11 fractured his hip. Despite overtures from his current Team Ducati Alstare squad and reported interest form Kawasaki, Checa decided to hang up his leathers to take on an undisclosed non-riding role with Ducati.

Race 1
In conditions that were a little cooler than qualifying, race 1 got underway with a good start from Laverty, while Melandri soon had the better of Sykes to move into second and open a gap on the champion in waiting. Giugliano suffered the most, dropping back to sixth by the end of lap one, and unable to improve this position for the rest of the race.

In fact, the race was virtually devoid of passing for most of the 21 laps, and certainly at the head of the field. This changed on the penultimate lap when Melandri made a move on Laverty for the lead, while Sykes eased off behind the pair, content to hold third place in the knowledge this would be enough to win the title.

With Melandri set to record his fourth race win of this season, Laverty pounced on the final corner of the final lap, going around the outside to round up the BMW and claim the race win by 0.218 seconds. Six seconds further back, Sykes cruised to third place, and the 2013 championship. Guintoli finished fourth, with Elias a very distant fifth.

Aitchison scrapped with Ducati Alstare's Xavier Flores through the middle of the race, but the latter prevailed, pushing the Aussie to the tail end of the top ten. Parkes was the final finisher in 18th place.

Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) and Vittorio Iannuzzo (Grillini Dentalmatic SBK) both retired with mechanical issues in the final third of the race.

Race 2
Before the start of race 2, Melandri elected not to ride, blaming an injured ankle that had restricted him in the first race. On the opening lap, Flores crashed out at turn one after contact with another rider, followed by Iannuzzo three corners later.

Seemingly rejuvenated by having the championship monkey off his back, Sykes took the lead early in race 2, but had Laverty and Guintoli for close company early.

Ayrton Badovini retired after two laps, with Haslam again parking the Pata Honda CBR 1000RR after four laps.

Ten laps into the 21 lap final race of the 2013 season, Sykes still held a narrow lead over Laverty, but Guintoli had dropped off. On lap thirteen, Laverty took the lead, then built on it to increase the margin over Sykes to 2.7 seconds by the chequered flag.

The win was Laverty's ninth for the year and concluded a barnstorming second half of the season for the Irishman, who never finished off the podium from Silverstone's round nine onwards. However, a number of retirements early in the season meant he was always playing catch up to the consistent Sykes.

New champion Sykes capped off the final race of the year with a lap record of 1'41.691, his thirteenth fastest race lap this season.

Guintoli finished third in the race and the championship, capping off an impressive season for Aprilia, who won the manufacturer's championship by 49 points from Kawasaki. For British-based Frenchman Guintoli, a string of second and third place finishes kept him in the championship hunt, but only one race win (Phillip Island) limited his chances.

For the Aussies, Aitchson finished ninth in race 2, after dropping as low as twelfth in the opening laps, while Parkes finished his Superbike cameo in twelfth, after a fast start saw him as high as eighth.

2013 World Superbike Championship

Championship Points - Rd 4 of 14

1. Tom SYKES 447
(Kawasaki)
2. Eugene LAVERTY 424
(Aprilia)
3. Sylvain GUINTOLI 402
(Aprilia)
4. Marco MELANDRI 359
(BMW)
5. Chaz DAVIES 290
(BMW)
6. Davide GIUGLIANO 211
(Aprilia)
7. Michel FABRIZIO 188
(Honda)
8. Loris BAZ 180
(Kawasaki)
9. Jonathan REA 176
(Honda)
10. Jules CLUZEL 175
(Suzuki)