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The final round of the 2014 eni FIM Superbike World Championship will take place at the Losail International Circuit this weekend, with KRT riders Tom Sykes, Loris Baz and KRT SBK EVO rider David Salom all primed and ready for a true finale at the 5.380-km long track. |
For the first time in the history of World Superbike the two 17-lap WSBK races will take place in the same kind of floodlit conditions that the GP classes have competed under for several seasons, offering even more spectacle for the fans in Qatar and at home watching on TV.
Tom Sykes, winner of the championship with Kawasaki last year, still leads the championship, now with a 12-point advantage. Entering the Losail round, Sykes is eager to get back to winning ways at one of his favourite circuits.
Loris Baz has yet to score a win in 2014 and his immediate aim is to return to top form to be able to be in a position to help in the overall championship chase for
Kawasaki. Loris is fifth in the rankings, with 19 points to make up on the rider ahead, and two points scoring races in which to do it.
KRT SBK EVO class rider David Salom is the clear leader of the EVO category, which runs in parallel with the overall SBK contest. Now 30 points ahead, despite missing the previous round after hurting his previously injured right hand, Salom is feeling fit and intends to win the title by leading the EVO field in both races in Losail.
Losail has not been used for WSBK racing since the 2009 season, but Sykes has raced there before, finishing seventh and fifth in Qatar during his rookie WSBK season. “I am really looking forward to racing at Losail because it is a track I have competed at before and I was also here for the Ninja ZX-10R launch. I rode under the floodlights during the launch and it is a completely different experience—and one that I am really looking forward to again," Sykes said.
“The layout at Losail is fantastic as you can open up the full potential of a Superbike and you feel that there is a good element of safety, so I cannot wait to get going on Friday evening.
“It has come down to crunch time and there is a lot at stake at this meeting—but I am just looking to go out and doing what we normally do. There has been some input from the weather in the championship recently, which obviously made it closer than it perhaps would have been, but the long and short of it is that we are the ones with the advantage, so we need to make the most of that.
“I am in the very fortunate position that this is the third year on the bounce that we have been battling for the world championship so we just need to see what we can make of it on raceday.”
Loris Baz said: “It will be my first time ever to race at Qatar this weekend and it looks like a good circuit. I am happy to finish the season at a track like that because I am sure I can have a good result, if I can get some good luck on my side a little bit.
“I have studied the track so much I feel like I have already been there, by watching previous the races that have taken place there and learning the layout. It is quite flat so I hope it will be relatively easy to learn. At least I know where the turns are so now I will have to learn the lines and everything else when I get there.
“From what I hear it is not really like riding at night under the floodlights; more like riding during the day. I think riding with all these lights will be a little bit different but it should not change the feelings of it that much. Since Laguna Seca we have been missing a bit of luck so I hope it is back on our side in Qatar.”
For David Salom, Losail is a familiar circuit. “For me Losail is a very good track and I like it very much. I was lucky to race there in Supersport and I even raced there one year in the Superbike class.
“It will be very different this time because it will be a night race. I am not sure how that will be but I think the track will be very good for Kawasaki and me. It is a long track, and you have to move the bike around it very fast.
“I will go to Qatar to try and win both the EVO races. My injured hand is better than at any previous races and I do not have any real pain. I have been at physiotherapy every day recently and the recovery is going really well.”
The FIM Supersport World Championship competitors will be back in action this weekend for their final outing of the year at Losail. With the title already secured by Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport) at Jerez, the battle for the runner-up spot sees Frenchman Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), who is 12 points ahead of compatriot Florian Marino (Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki).
Cluzel has good Qatari memories, having stepped onto the rostrum twice in his GP years, both times under floodlights: in 2009 he was second in the 250cc race (his maiden Grand Prix podium finish), whilst the following year he finished the Moto2 encounter in third place.
This round will present a crucial opportunity for many riders to improve their chances of finding a competitive ride for next year and with the Qatari venue being new for the majority of the field we could see some new faces at the sharp end.
