Team Pata Honda's Rea Scores Double Win, Haslam Double Top-10s at Round 4 of eni Superbike World Championship at Imola

Imola - Italy    11.05.2014                 Rea delivers dream double for Pata and Honda at Imola Pata Honda rider Jonathan Rea rounded off a perfect weekend on his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade at the fourth-round World Superbike championship event at Imola in Italy today. The 27-year-old British rider comfortably won both of today’s races at the 4.936km Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari from pole position, setting the fastest lap in each of the two outings. He now leads the championship by four points from fellow Brit Tom Sykes. Rea got superb starts in both 19-lap races and was never challenged, with Chaz Davies and Sykes joining him on the podium in race one. Davies and Sylvain Guintoli were second and third respectively in the second race. Rea’s Pata Honda team-mate Leon Haslam finished tenth in race one and eighth in race two, battling hard in both outings after a promising start to the Imola event. He will join Rea and other World Superbike riders for an official one-day test at the Imola crcuit tomorrow. Jonathan Rea  - 1st and 1st It’s been a great weekend for me! I couldn’t have imagined doubling up coming here. But I knew we’d be strong because it’s a circuit I really enjoy and one that the bike goes really well at. To cap it off, it’s also been a perfect weekend for the team with Lorenzo [Zanetti] winning his first World Supersport race so massive congratulations to him. Mikey [van der Mark] was on the podium and he’s leading the championship, too. It’s a shame we have a test tomorrow because I think everybody in the team deserves to go and really enjoy the night and savour this moment but it’s back to work tomorrow! We’ll try to make the bike better and go to Donington hopefully to keep this ball rolling. I’m really enjoying riding right now and I want to thank everyone who’s put the work in. Not just the track staff here but the guys back at base in Nieuwleusen [Netherlands]. It’s also the home round for our sponsors, Pata, so a big thanks to them, too. Leon Haslam  - 10th and 8th We’ve made a step but from free practice yesterday morning we’ve lost about a second a lap. From being able to do high 47s and low 48s on old, used tyres, we’ve only been able to do high 48s today, dropping into the 49s. I was quicker on an 18-lap harder tyre on Friday than I was in both races today. So, for me it’s not been a good weekend, but it’s been fantastic for the team. You always want to beat your team mate, but it’s good that the bike is capable and for me that’s a positive. Also a one-two in Supersport is mega for the team but it probably adds a little frustration from my side because it could have been good for me. We’ve got a test here tomorrow so we’ll hopefully be able to figure some things out and find out what changed from yesterday. I know Donington well and that the bike can work well there, so hopefully I can start my season there! Pieter Breddels  - technical co-ordinator Leon struggled today and was far away from his team-mate. We know he can be within a second or half a second of Jonathan but it was not his day. We changed some things for race two and he fought for a better finish. We have a test tomorrow and we’ll do anything we can to get him to the front with more confidence. It’s in there, and he’s a little fighter – he’s not giving up and neither are we. Jonathan has had an amazing double win. After his pole yesterday things were looking good and, after warm-up this morning, it was looking even better. The competition had no chance today and he’s now leading the championship, so big congratulations to the whole crew. I’m so happy for Jonathan, too, because he has stuck with us through some hard times and always believed in us. Weather Sunny Intervals Air 22°C Track 30°C Humidity 52%   Race 1 Results - 19 laps   1   Jonathan Rea 34m14.829s GBR HONDA Pata Honda 2   Chaz Davies +4.511 GBR DUCATI Ducati Superbike Team 3   Sylvain Guintoli +6.492 FRA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team 4   Loris Baz +8.434 FRA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team 5   Sylvain Guintoli +9.134 FRA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team 6   Marco Melandri +14.925 ITA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team 7   Eugene Laverty +19.973 IRL SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki 8   Alex Lowes +21.582 GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki 9   Toni Elias +28.781 ESP APRILIA Red Devils Roma 10   Leon Haslam +31.245 GBR HONDA Pata Honda Weather Sunny Intervals Air 23°C Track 34°C Humidity 51%   Race 2 Results - 19 laps   1   Jonathan Rea 34m14.255s GBR HONDA Pata Honda 2   Chaz Davies +4.095 GBR DUCATI Ducati Superbike Team 3   Sylvain Guintoli +5.546 FRA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team 4   Loris Baz +6.285 FRA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team 5   Tom Sykes +7.147 GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team 6   Davide Guigliano +22.054 ITA DUCATI Ducati Superbike Team 7   Toni Elias +25.811 ESP APRILIA Red Devils Roma 8   Leon Haslam +26.127 GBR HONDA Pata Honda 9   Eugene Laverty +26.306 IRL SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki 10   Alex Lowes +33.046 GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki   Championship Standings - Round 4   1   Jonathan Rea 139 pts GBR HONDA Pata Honda 2   Tom Sykes 135 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team 4   Loris Baz 119 pts FRA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team 5   Chaz Davies 87 pts GBR DUCATI Ducati Superbike Team 6   Marco Melandri 84 pts ITA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team 7   Davide Guigliano 69 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Superbike Team 8   Eugene Laverty 62 pts IRL SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki 9   Leon Haslam 58 pts GBR HONDA Pata Honda 10   Alex Lowes 50 pts GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki   Copyright-free images © 2014 Pata Honda