Ireland’s Eugene Laverty has made big gains in the World Superbike Championship title hunt after completing his second victory of the day at Istanbul Park, Turkey, at the weekend.

Mirroring his victory in race one, Laverty (Aprilia) chased down long-time leader Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) to pass with five laps remaining and sprint home for victory.

Prior to that it looked like Laverty would be hard pressed to do the double after a tardy getaway left him in fifth place initially as Sykes put the hammer down in the early stages.

However, once Laverty had ascended to second position he would slowly chip away at Sykes’s advantage before pouncing as soon as he was on the tail of the ZX-10R on lap 12.

Proceeding to edge away from his rival to the chequered flag, Laverty’s second win of the day means he has taken another chunk out of the margin to the top of the standings, the Irishman now 26 points behind with three rounds remaining.

Though Sykes would again fade as the race progressed, he had accumulated enough of a buffer to cross the line in second position, comfortably ahead of Sylvain Guintoli, who in turn notched up his first podium finish since Imola.

The result means Sykes has increased his advantage at the top of the standings to eight points over Guintoli, while Laverty is now up to third position.

A podium winner in race one, Marco Melandri struggled for front-running pace during the second encounter, engaging in a lively duel with Toni Elias early on before stretching away to finish in a fairly lonely fourth position.

Elias, meanwhile, completed his superb WSBK debut outing on the Red Devils Roma Aprilia with a run to fifth place, the Spaniard belying his experience on a Superbike to re-pass Chaz Davies on the final lap of the race.

Jules Cluzel and Leon Haslam tussled throughout the race for seventh place, the position going the way of the Frenchman eventually, while Italian duo Davide Giugliano and Michel Fabrizio completed the top ten.

With just 15 riders starting the race after Ayrton Badovini opted against entering with his injured ankle, all finishers scored points with Mark Aitchison, Federico Sandi, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Tolga Urpak and Yunus Ercelik picking up the final digits.

Race One:

1. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 34m 57.650
2. Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +2.009s
3. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +3.432s
4. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +3.919s
5. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Racing RSV4 +15.830s
6. Toni Elias ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 +15.945s
7. Jules Cluzel FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +16.921s
8. Chaz Davies GBR BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +21.491s
9. Leon Haslam GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR +40.186s
10. Michel Fabrizio ITA Pata Honda CBR1000RR +40.218s
11. Federico Sandi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +41.700s
12. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Grillini Dentalmatic BMW S1000RR +1m 39.549s
13. Tolga Urpak TUR CMS Ducati 1098 R +1 lap
14. Yunus Ercelik TUR Sampiyon 169 BMW S1000RR +1 lap

Not Classified

15. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 10 laps completed
16. Ayrton Badovini ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R 9 laps completed

Did Not Start

Carlos Checa ESP Alstare Ducati 1199 R
Max Neukirchner GER MR Ducati 1199 R
Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R
Leon Camier GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000

Fastest lap
Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 55.673s

Race Two:

1. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 18 Laps
2. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +1.708s
3. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +4.052s
4. Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +10.860s
5. Toni Elias ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 +12.171s
6. Chaz Davies GBR BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +12.396s
7. Jules Cluzel FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +17.434s
8. Leon Haslam GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR +17.683s
9. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Racing RSV4 +25.770s
10. Michel Fabrizio ITA Pata Honda CBR1000RR +38.735s
11. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +48.892s
12. Federico Sandi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +49.136s
13. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Grillini Dentalmatic BMW S1000RR +1m 36.589s
14. Tolga Urpak TUR CMS Ducati 1098 R +1 lap
15. Yunus Ercelik TUR Sampiyon 169 BMW S1000RR +1 lap

Did Not Start

Ayrton Badovini ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R
Carlos Checa ESP Alstare Ducati 1199 R
Max Neukirchner GER MR Ducati 1199 R
Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R
Leon Camier GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000

Championship standings after round 11 of 14: