Sepang World Superbike Race Report: Nicky Hayden Wins 1st WSBK Podium

This is Nicky Hayden's first win at a world championship level since 2006

The podium finish also marks a special place in Nicky Hayden's career as it is the rider's first win at the world championship level since his MotoGP victory at Laguna Seca in 2006. The wet track posed challenging conditions in addition to the recently resurfaced track at Sepang and the American rider countered every obstacle with masterful skills.

The wet track turned out to be the game changer at Sepang World SBK

Team Kawasaki's Rea lead the race initially, followed by team rider Tom Sykes who took the pole position in Super Pole 2 and Ducati's Chaz Davies who has been leading this season; but Hayden was quick to whizz past Sykes at turn five, before moving past Rea and taking the lead. Past lap eight, Hayden was a good three seconds ahead of rivals, but the real threat soon starting speeding up as Guigliano caught up with the Honda rider eliminating the distance a second per lap. The Italian rider also recorded the fastest lap (2'16.716) in the race, putting up a close fight.

2016 World Superbike Championship Sepang Results

Nevertheless, Hayden's controlled yet powerful performance saw him throttle away as the chequered flag came up. Moving further, Ducati's Chaz Davies finished fourth (+5.720), followed by Team Tribeca Racing's Anthony West finishing fifth. Honda's Michael van der Mark finished sixth, while Tom Sykes of Kawasaki struggled to keep up on the wet track and eventually finished eighth. Milwaukee BMW's Josh Brookes (+25.835) finished 12th in the race. It will now be interesting to see if Hayden can maintain his newfound victory even at Donnington Park in the UK at the next WSBK round is scheduled to take place in the next two weeks.