After a Ducati double win at the last round in America, the WSB grid lined up in Malaysia with at least the hope it was possible to beat the two Kawasakis. Although with Sykes on pole it did have the feeling of situation normal, especially as Rea soon fired up into third after a poor qualifying. Could Davies spice things up a bit again? Or Max Biaggi for that matter?
With Sykes clear at the front, it was up to Rea and Davies to provide some mid-race entertainment for the fans as they battled for the podium spots while Biaggi, Haslam and Guintoli also got stuck into one another. Then, with five to go, the battling duo caught up with Sykes and the race started to warm up as Davies broke clear and Rea attempted to chase him down as Sykes battled tyre issues.
A clinical race saw Rea take an unnecessarily close win after massively screwing up the last corner with Davies second and Max Biaggi third while Sykes ended up a miserable fifth.
Race two and could Sykes find a tyre to last the distance? It nearly didn't matter as he collided with Biaggi in the first corner and while Biaggi ended up on the floor, Sykes was demoted well down the order to 17th spot. After heroically battling his way back through the field and into the top ten, Sykes hit the floor with ten laps to go, dropping him to 19th spot while at the front Davies led the way with Rea in second. While this almost handed the title to Rea, Davies' recent run of form meant that he was now the only rider with a mathematical chance of beating Rea.
With the calculators out, Davies took the win in Malaysia with Rea second after another cracking last corner, a result that all but hands the title to Rea. Sykes is now out of the equation, but, in theory at least, Davies could snatch the title from Rea. Not that he will...
Over in WSS, Jacobsen took the win from the MV pair of Cluzel and Zanetti with Smith in fifth and Rea eighth.
Race 1:
1. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)
2. Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati SBK Team)
3. Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils)
Race 2:
1. Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati SBK Team)
2. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3. Torres (Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils)
Brit watch:
Leon Haslam (Aprilia) - 7, 6
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) - 1, 2
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) - 5, 14
Alex Lowes (Suzuki) - 6, 8
Chaz Davies (Ducati) - 2, 1
Leon Camier (MV Agusta) - 13, 12
Gino Rea (Honda WSS) - 8
Kyle Smith (Honda WSS) - 5