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01.11.2014 Sports News

Davide Giugliano quickest in Qatar, Sylvain Guintoli outshines Tom Sykes

By Allsports.com.gh
Davide Giugliano quickest in Qatar, Sylvain Guintoli outshines Tom Sykes
01.11.2014 LISTEN

The Italian recovered from sitting out the second session to top the timesheets after stage three under floodlights at the Losail International Circuit.

Honda's Jonathan Rea finished off an impressive day as the second quickest rider heading into Saturday's Superpole qualifying stint.

Significantly, Aprilia's Sylvain Guintoli kept up the pressure on title-race leader and defending champion Tom Sykes by securing third spot.

The Frenchman trails the Briton by 12 points going into the closing weekend of the 2014 season.

Kawasaki's Loris Baz earned fourth place on combined times, with Eugene Laverty, Suzuki team-mate Alex Lowes and Ducati's Chaz Davies all ahead of Kawasaki kingpin Sykes in eighth.

Leon Haslam (Honda) and Toni Elias (Aprilia) complete the list of 10 seeded riders set to feature in Superpole 2

Rea had earlier gone quickest in FP1, the first practice session ever staged under floodlights in Superbike history.

In a thrilling 45-minute period, Rea edged ahead in the closing 90 seconds to pip Baz and fellow circuit rookie Lowes.

Rea dropped to fourth in the second spell, however, after being hampered by technical problems, with Ireland's Laverty stepping up this time.

The outgoing Suzuki rider swooped late on in the session to overshadow his rivals with a lap of 1:58.449secs, with Davies in second.

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