French motorcycle racer Sylvain Guintoli has been crowned as the 2014 World Superbike Champion after he won the second race of the day at the Losail track in Qatar. Sylvain Guintoli overtook Tom Sykes by clinching victories in the last two races at France and Qatar, earning him the championship for the first time in his career. This is the fourth manufacturer championship for Aprilia, since it latched on to the WSBK series in 2009.
In the first race at Qatar, Guintoli had closed down the gap between him and Sykes to just three points, with the final race becoming a decider for the championship. Whoever finished the race in the front row was sure to be crowned as the champion. Though Sykes got a good start, Guintoli, slowly worked his way up the order and made a crucial pass over Sykes on lap four before passing the race leader Jonathan Rea on lap five. It was a cruise towards victory after this, as Guintoli maintained his lead right till the end of the race. This is the third world championship combination (both rider and manufacturer) for the Italian manufacturer after it won the championship in 2010 and 2012 with Italian ace racer, Max Biaggi, riding on the RSV4.
Speaking about this victory, Roberto Colaninno, chairman and CEO of the Piaggio Group said, "This was a difficult championship right down to the end, that seemed to have been lost but was then reopened and that makes the result we achieved today even more exceptional, with two world titles won. My compliments to Guintoli - simply extraordinary.”
