It was a dramatic finish to the 2014 World Superbike Championship (WSBK) season with flying Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli winning both races and snatching the title at the 12th and final round at the Losail International Circuit at the weekend.

His second race win of the day in Qatar allowed the Aprilia rider to overturn the three-point deficit to British defending champion Tom Sykes in the final race of the season.

Having closed the gap down to Kawasaki rider Sykes to just three points after his win in the first encounter at Losail, Guintoli and his title rival came into the race knowing whomever finished in front of the other would likely be crowned champion.

Though Sykes got the better start, a visibly quicker Guintoli would promptly work his way into contention, making a pivotal pass over Sykes on lap four before passing leader Jonathan Rea on lap five. From here, the Frenchman would forge a lead he would retain right to the chequered flag.

With Sykes finishing a fairly distant third behind Rea, the nine point margin between the two positions means Guintoli jumps ahead of Sykes to be crowned the 2014 World Superbike Champion by six points.

A tense race from the off, not least when Loris Baz got out of shape into turn one to take himself and Leon Haslam wide onto the gravel trap, Sykes and Guintoli nonetheless survived the melee to settle in first and fourth respectively through the opening lap.

Despite his attempts to break away from the front, the Kawasaki rider instead found himself demoted to second at the start of lap two as Rea sneaked forward into the opening bend.

With Guintoli swallowing up Davide Giugliano for third place courtesy of his superior straight line speed, the two title rivals were now line astern, albeit only until the start of lap four when the Frenchman simply used the same tactic to dismiss his rival down the home stretch.

Now behind Guintoli in both the race and the provisional standings, Sykes attempted to fight-back but instead found himself bottled up behind Rea when Guintoli swept past the PATA Honda – the bike many expect him to be riding next year – into the lead on lap five.

From here, Guintoli simply stretched his legs, posting a new fastest lap to put air between himself and Rea, who in turn had the measure of Sykes behind him. Indeed, though Sykes would eventually get the better of Rea on lap eight, it was already too late for him to make in-roads on his team-mate even when the margin between the two began to increase again.

So much so that when Rea snatched second back from Sykes with two laps remaining, the conclusion was inevitable, Guintoli needing to just keep it neat to the chequered flag to cross the line as the winner and a very worthy champion.

Clinching the title by just six points from a man that had led the championship from the third race and was 44 points clear with just six races remaining, Guintoli becomes the first Frenchman to win the title since Raymond Roche in 1990. Furthermore, it marks Aprilia’s third rider’s title and its fourth manufacturers’ crown.

Rea’s second place means he finishes the 2014 season – and his time at Honda – with a career-best third overall, beating out Marco Melandri, who could only finish a distant fourth.

In the race, Chaz Davies completed the top five, ahead of Toni Elias and a charging Baz, the Frenchman – after his race one controversy – producing a strong final race ride to claw his way back to seventh place having been off at the first corner.

Pole man Giugliano ended another frustrating race day in eighth, ahead of Alex Lowes – the sole Suzuki finisher after Eugene Laverty crashed out – and the also-recovering Haslam.

Having clinched the EVO title in race one, David Salom ended a successful 2014 season with another class win, ahead of Niccolo Canepa, Bryan Staring, Claudio Corti and Alessandro Andreozzi.

 

RESULTS:

Race one:

1. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 17 laps
2. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +2.650s
3. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +3.955s
4. Jonathan Rea GBR PATA Honda CBR1000RR +4.805s
5. Davide Giugliano ITA Ducati SBK 1199 Panigale R +7.861s
6. Toni Elias ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 +8.192s
7. Chaz Davies GBR Ducati SBK 1199 Panigale R +8.991s
8. Marco Melandri ITA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +10.512s
9. Eugene Laverty IRL Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +15.978s
10. Alex Lowes GBR Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +21.456s
11. Leon Haslam GBR PATA Honda CBR1000RR +25.977s
12. Niccolo Canepa ITA Althea Ducati 1199 Panigale R +29.085s (E)
13. David Salom ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +29.096s (E)
14. Sylvain Barrier FRA BMW Italia S1000RR +39.270s (E)
15. Bryan Staring AUS IRON BRAIN Kawasaki ZX-10R +43.360s (E)

16. Jeremy Guarnoni FRA MRS Kawasaki ZX-10R +46.206s (E)
17. Geoff May USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX +1m 16.323s
18. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR +1 lap (E)

Not Classified

19. Alessandro Andreozzi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 7 laps completed (E)
20. Gabor Rizmayer HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR 6 laps completed (E)
21. Alex Cudlin AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 3 laps completed (E)
22. Aaron Yates USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX 3 laps completed
23. Claudio Corti ITA MV Agusta RC F4RR 2 laps completed

Did Not Start

Sheridan Morais RSA IRON BRAIN Kawasaki ZX-10R (E)

 

Race two:

1. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 17 laps
2. Jonathan Rea GBR PATA Honda CBR1000RR +3.568s
3. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +5.092s
4. Marco Melandri ITA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +8.305s
5. Chaz Davies GBR Ducati SBK 1199 Panigale R +8.390s
6. Toni Elias ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 +8.654s
7. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +9.115s
8. Davide Giugliano ITA Ducati SBK 1199 Panigale R +13.015s
9. Alex Lowes GBR Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +13.478s
10. Leon Haslam GBR PATA Honda CBR1000RR +25.471s
11. David Salom ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +37.964s (E)
12. Niccolo Canepa ITA Althea Ducati 1199 Panigale R +38.001s (E)
13. Bryan Staring AUS IRON BRAIN Kawasaki ZX-10R +46.248s (E)
14. Claudio Corti ITA MV Agusta RC F4RR +51.926s
15. Alessandro Andreozzi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +56.331s (E)

16. Geoff May USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX +1m 23.937s
17. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR +1 lap (E)
18. Alex Cudlin AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1 lap (E)

Not Classified

19. Sylvain Barrier FRA BMW Italia S1000RR 5 laps completed (E)
20. Aaron Yates USA Team Hero EBR 1190RX 4 laps completed
21. Jeremy Guarnoni FRA MRS Kawasaki ZX-10R 3 laps completed (E)
22. Eugene Laverty IRL Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 2 laps completed

Did Not Start

Gabor Rizmayer HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR (E)
Sheridan Morais RSA IRON BRAIN Kawasaki ZX-10R (E)

 

 

Final WSBK standings for 2014

 

POSITION	RIDER	TEAM	POINTS
1	Sylvain Guintoli	Aprilia Racing	416
2	Tom Sykes	Kawasaki Racing Team	410
3	Jonathan Rea	PATA Honda	334
4	Marco Melandri	Aprilia Racing	333
5	Loris Baz	Kawasaki Racing Team	311
6	Chaz Davies	Ducati SBK	215
7	Leon Haslam	PATA Honda	187
8	Davide Giugliano	Ducati SBK	181
9	Toni Elias	Red Devils Roma Aprilia	171
10	Eugene Laverty	Voltcom Crescent Suzuki	161
11	Alex Lowes	Voltcom Crescent Suzuki	139
12	David Salom	Kawasaki Racing Team (E)	103
13	Niccolo Canepa	Althea Ducati (E)	73
14	Jeremy Guarnoni	MRS Kawasaki (E)	45
15	Sylvain Barrier	BMW Italia (E)	40
16	Leon Camier	BMW Italia (E) / MV Agusta RC	37
17	Claudio Corti	MV Agusta Reparto Corse	27
18	Sheridan Morais	IRON BRAIN Grillini Kawasaki (E)	24
19	Alessandro Andreozzi	Pedercini Kawasaki (E)	22
20	Fabien Foret	MAHI India / Pedercini Kawasaki (E)	20
21	Lorenzo Lanzi	3C Ducati Racing	19
22	Bryan Staring	IRON BRAIN Grillini Kawasaki (E)	18
23	Max Neukirchner	3C Ducati Racing	17
24	Luca Scassa	Pedercini Kawasaki (E)	16
25	Gabor Rizmayer	BMW Team Toth	7
26	Glenn Allerton	BMW Italia SBK (E)	6
27	Kervin Bos	Winterb Honda CBR1000RR (E)	5
28	Imre Toth	BMW Team Toth	5
29	Ivan Goi	Barni Ducati (E)	5
30	Riccardo Russo	Pedercini Kawasaki (E)	5
31	Larry Pegram	Foremost Insurance EBR	2
32	Michel Fabrizio	IRON BRAIN Grillini Kawasaki (E)	2
33	Romain Lanusse	Pedercini Kawasaki (E)	1