Britain’s Tom Sykes claimed a ‘fairy-tale’ double victory on home soil at Donington Park in the British Midlands at the weekend and moved onto the cusp of the World Superbike title lead.

Sykes took back-to-back wins on his Kawasaki ZX-10R, delighting the home fans at this fifth round of 15 in the championship, a third of the season now completed.

He had been in outstanding form in the lead up to the races, topping Q1, Q2, FP2 and all three Superpole phases on the way to a lap record-breaking pole position, earmarking him as a favourite for victory come race day.

And so it proved, Sykes proving equally imperious in both races, leading each of the day’s 66 laps (the same as his racing number) and scoring a new race lap record to complete his first-ever WSBK double win – the first by a British rider at Donington Park since Carl Fogarty in 1995 and the first for Kawasaki anywhere since 2000.

A landmark result for Sykes, who has reduced Sylvain Guintoli’s lead in the overall standings to just four points, last year’s WSBK runner-up was thrilled to produce his best in front of the home crowd.

“I have been in World Superbike for a few years now and I got the first double win on home soil is a fairy tale. One click on the front suspension between races made the difference and we could see that in the second race time, which was better than the first one.

“The Ninja ZX-10R is working well and it has been all weekend so I feel very motivated. We are racing in a World Championship and these guys are as fast as you like and very competitive, so it is not as easy at it looked. Kawasaki is a very close unit and we have worked hard and everybody has seen how much better we are in the races. I got the circuit record yesterday and I got the new lap record in race two so I have the full set.

“I really enjoyed the support from the crowd and I hope they enjoyed the show. No better place to do my first double than at Donington Park. A good weekend and we are closer in the championship, just four points from the top. We’re in a strong situation, we have a good base setting and now we are going to some fantastic circuits.”

Photo by Mirco Lazzari

Race one:

1. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 23 laps
2. Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +2.379s
3. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +3.808s
4. Jonathan Rea GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR +4.760s
5. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +13.649s
6. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Racing RSV4 +15.551s
7. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 +17.453s
8. Chaz Davies GBR BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +19.138s
9. Jules Cluzel FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +27.738s
10. Michel Fabrizio ITA Red Devils Roma RSV4 +30.817s
11. Ayrton Badovini ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R +31.611s
12. Carlos Checa ESP Alstare Ducati 1199 R +31.816s
13. Niccolo Canepa ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R +31.930s
14. Max Neukirchner GER MR Ducati 1199 R +43.025s
15. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Grillini Dentalmatic BMW S1000RR +4 laps

Not Classified:

16. Federico Sandi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 laps completed
17. Alexander Lundh SWE Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 15 laps completed
18. Leon Camier GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 1 lap completed

Did Not Start: Leon Haslam GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR

Fastest lap: Jonathan Rea GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR 1m 28.469s

Race two:

1. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 23 laps
2. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +8.035s
3. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 +10.738s
4. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Racing RSV4 +12.257s
5. Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +15.976
6. Chaz Davies GBR BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +16.475s
7. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +27.524s
8. Niccolo Canepa ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R +30.186s
9. Jules Cluzel FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +30.501s
10. Michel Fabrizio ITA Red Devils Roma RSV4 +30.885s
11. Jonathan Rea GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR +31.529s
12. Max Neukirchner GER MR Ducati 1199 R +46.782s
13. Leon Camier GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1m 05.509s
14. Federico Sandi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1m 20.789s
15. Alexander Lundh SWE Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1m 20.431s

16. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Grillini Dentalmatic BMW S1000RR +1m 20.719s

Not Classified:

17. Ayrton Badovini ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R 17 laps completed

Did Not Start: Carlos Checa ESP Alstare Ducati 1199 R
Leon Haslam GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR

Fastest lap: Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 28.074s

World Championship standings after round five: