World Superbikes 2014 season finale live on Eurosport

Britain’s Tom Sykes is in pole position retain his status as world champion this weekend as he goes head-to-head with title rival Sylvain Guintoli in the final round of the FIM Superbike World Championship in Qatar, live on British Eurosport.

After nine months of racing, comprising of 12 meetings around the world, from Phillip Island to Donington and Laguna Seca to Sepang, the World Superbikes season is all set for a dramatic title decider around the Losail International circuit, located outside the Qatari capital Doha. 

For the first time in WSBK history, the event will be held under floodlights thanks to the impressive lighting system, which has been used for the country’s MotoGP race since 2008, that powers the entire circuit, allowing riders to race under conditions that are similar to daylight.

The Qatari circuit makes its return to the World Superbikes calendar after a four years absence to host the series for the sixth time, with the previous round having been held back in 2009, when the meeting was held at the other end of the calendar.

That weekend more than five years ago saw the now-retired Ben Spies take a double victory, as well as pole position, with the American rider going on to overcome a 10 point deficit to Noriyuki Haga in the season’s final round to take the title in spectacular fashion.

A slightly bigger gap separates this year’s title contenders coming into the season finale as reigning world champion Tom Sykes leads the standings with a 12-point margin over Aprilia rider Sylvain Guintoli.

Sykes, who rides for Kawasaki, finished fourth in both races at the previous round at Magny-Cours, but the Briton’s championship lead over his nearest challenger Guintoli was slashed from 31 to just 12 points going into the final round in Qatar.

It was a disappointing round for Sykes in France last time around, though the defending champion knows that he can win the title in Qatar with two second-place finishes, however, two 1-2 finishes for Aprilia’s Guintoli and his team-mate Marco Melandri will prevent the Yorkshireman from retaining the trophy.

While Britain has experienced extraordinary success in World Superbikes over the last two decades, with the likes of Carl Fogarty, Neil Hodgson James Toseland and Sykes all becoming champions for Great Britain, Guintoli is looking to become the first French champion since Raymond Roche in 1990.

Both Sykes and Guintoli have previously raced at Losail with the Frenchman being the more experienced of the two at this track, having raced there five times before, including the first MotoGP night race back in 2008.

Reigning champion Sykes raced on the technical and flowing Losail circuit back in 2009, in what was his rookie season in World Superbikes, and he’ll be hoping to be crowned a two-time world champion on his return visit this year.

While the two title contenders will squae off for the final battle, third place in the standings is also at stake, with Marco Melandri, who has won four of the last six races, aiming to keep up the momentum to finish the season on the highest possible note.

He is trailed by British rider Jonathan Rea, who is 11 points behind Melandri in fourth and by Loris Baz, currently fifth and 30 points adrift of third place.

Other British riders in action include Eugene Laverty and Alex Lowes, who will contest their last event as team mates at Voltcom Crescent Suzuki, with the goal of returning onto the podium before the season draws to a close.

With Lowes officially confirmed for another season with the English team, Laverty is looking to conclude his racing year the same way it started off for him with victory before switching to MotoGP in 2015. 

With the motor racing year winding down for the winter months, another spectacular championship finale is expected to unfold with the final round of the 2014 Superbike World Championship and British Eurosport will screen all the action exclusively live.

For further information about the 2014 Superbike World Championship, visit worldsbk.com.

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Britain’s Tom Sykes has the chance to retain his championship title this week at the final round of the season in Qatar and British Eurosport will be the only place to watch all the action unfold as it happens.

The pan-European channel will screen live and exclusive coverage of the Superpole qualifying session on Saturday, followed by the whole race day on Sunday from the Losail International circuit near Doha.

Matt Roberts presents British Eurosport’s coverage of the bumper five-hour race day programme on Sunday, starting at 3.15pm, featuring both title-deciding World Superbike races, with the final World Supersport Championship race of the season sandwiched in between.

Analysis and comment on the action will be provided from the Eurosport studio by former WSBK rider James Haydon and special guest Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, who recently won his fourth British Superbikes title, while Steve Day leads the race commentary team alongside James Whitham.

Alongside comprehensive live TV coverage and highlights programming in the week following the race weekend, all the WSBK action will be available to watch via Eurosport’s online subscription service Eurosport Player.

In addition, the motorsport section of the British Eurosport website will have all the latest updates and reports from Qatar.

Click here to read SOTB’s interview with Eurosport commentator Steve Day from earlier this season.

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Channel 4 will screen all the the best action from 12th and final round of the 2014 World Superbike Championship from Qatar in a half-hour highlights programme on the weekend after the event.

Fans will be able to watch free-to-air coverage of the title deciding races on the morning of Sunday, November 9, as defending champion Tom Sykes and his fierce rival Sylvain Guintoli battle it out for the riders’ title.

Charlie Webster presents the programme, which features highlights of both World Superbikes races as well as all the key interviews with the top riders, with Jonathan Green providing race commentary.

Channel 4’s highlights programme will be available to watch via its online catch-up service 4OD shortly after transmission, where it will be available to view for up to 30 days after transmission.

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