Britain’s Tom Sykes has won the 2013 World Superbike Championships.

The Kawasaki ace has been crowned the 2013 World Superbike Champion after securing the third place finish he needed to secure a popular title victory at Jerez, in Spain, at the weekend, while Eugene Laverty took a dramatic last corner victory over Marco Melandri.

Sykes came into the first race of the day knowing a finish on the podium would be enough to seal the title slightly earlier than expected, regardless of what closest rival Eugene Laverty achieved.

As it happens, Sykes would endure a fairly uncomplicated race, slotting into second initially before being bumped down to third position by a charging Marco Melandri on lap two.

From here, Sykes would go fairly unchallenged, the presence of Sylvain Guintoli in fourth place prompting nothing more than a close, but steady margin between the pair all the way to the chequered flag.

Knowing nothing less than a win would likely keep his slim title hopes alive into the final race, Laverty to his credit did everything he could to keep himself involved by taking the lead from pole position into the opening bend.

However, rather than Sykes, it was Laverty that would spend the entire race under intense pressure, with Marco Melandri latching himself onto the back of the Aprilia in his quest to give BMW a win on its final WSBK appearance.

Perhaps predictably, Melandri would simply hold station behind his former team-mate with a view to pouncing in the closing stages, but when the inevitable move came on the penultimate lap at the slow turn six hairpin, it would be an aggressive effort, the Italian robustly lifting Laverty up and taking them both wide.

With Melandri leading into the final lap, an evidently incensed Laverty would nonetheless respond in an extraordinary way with an astonishing re-pass into the last corner around the outside of the man who is expected to replace him at Aprilia Racing in 2014.

RACE ONE:

1. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 36m 00.919s
2. Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +0.218s
3. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +6.681s
4. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +9.327s
5. Toni Elias ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 +20.446s
6. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Racing RSV4 +27.633s
7. Chaz Davies GBR BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +28.621s
8. Leon Camier GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +29.548s
9. Xavi Fores ESP Alstare Ducati 1199 R +29.964s
10. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +36.981s
11. Jules Cluzel FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +37.008s
12. Sylvain Barrier FRA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +43.179s
13. Ayrton Badovini ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R +47.260s
14. Max Neukirchner GER MR Ducati 1199 R +52.154s
15. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA Mesaroli Ducati 1098 R +52.912s

16. Federico Sandi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +54.414s
17. Michel Fabrizio ITA Pata Honda CBR1000RR +1m 02.109s
18. Broc Parkes AUS YART Yamaha YZF-R1 +1m 02.568s
19. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Grillini Dentalmatic BMW S1000RR +6 laps

Not Classified

20. Leon Haslam GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR 13 laps completed

Fastest lap
Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 1m 41.958s

RACE TWO:

1. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 21 laps
2. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +2.711s
3. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +5.710s
4. Toni Elias ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 +15.509s
5. Chaz Davies GBR BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +21.830s
6. Leon Camier GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +26.558s
7. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA Mesaroli Ducati 1098 R +30.840s
8. Jules Cluzel FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +33.056s
9. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +36.299s
10. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Racing RSV4 +40.867s
11. Max Neukirchner GER MR Ducati 1199 R +44.308s
12. Broc Parkes AUS YART Yamaha YZF-R1 +52.483s
13. Sylvain Barrier FRA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +53.674s
14. Michel Fabrizio ITA Pata Honda CBR1000RR +1m 20.316s
15. Federico Sandi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +3 laps

Not Classified

16. Leon Haslam GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR 4 laps completed
17. Ayrton Badovini ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R 2 laps completed
18. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Grillini Dentalmatic BMW S1000RR 0 laps completed
19. Xavi Fores ESP Alstare Ducati 1199 R 0 laps completed

Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4

FINAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: