Brits impress in Donington WSB
Added on Monday, September 8th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Sykes celebrates maiden WSB podium.
British wildcards Tom Sykes and Cal Crutchlow gave the 45,000 home supporters something to cheer with maiden WSB podiums at Donington Park on Sunday.
The British duo were two of four British Superbike Championship riders who took to the grid this weekend in the European round of the World Superbike Championship and despite running on lower-spec BSB bikes, both Sykes and Crutchlow secured second-place finishes in races one and two respectively at the rain-drenched East Midlands circuit.
Sykes, who impressed in the earlier WSB round at Brands Hatch during his first wildcard entry last month, was just 1.266 seconds behind championship leader Troy Bayliss in the red-flagged race one, before a more modest tenth place finish in race two.
It was a result that typified Sykes’ recent form in both BSB and WSB competition and the Huddersfield-born rider told how he would be looking to take this form into the closing stages of the domestic championship.
“The first part of race one all went to plan and it was fantastic,” said Sykes. “I was watching the time on my board increasing with Troy behind and I felt I had good pace. The red flag was frustrating but I hid it well and composed myself. I got a clean start grabbing the hole-shot, but a slide and an incident at the Esses allowed Troy to get past me and then get away.
“Race two was a tough one but what can you do in conditions like that, I just kept it steady as I was struggling for grip. Overall it has been a good day, I’ve taken a podium at World level, we’ve gained some valuable wet settings and I’m now looking to Croft. I’d like to say a big thank you to all of the Rizla Suzuki team and the fans, this has been a brilliant experience.”
Rizla Suzuki team manager Jack Valentine added: “Tom has taken his first World Superbike podium and it is all credit to him and the Rizla Suzuki team - well done. I am sure if the race had not been red flagged he would have won it - he has shown just what a good rider he is and what the Rizla Suzuki team is capable of.
“Race two was a bit of a let-down but given the weather conditions Tom did his best; we’ll chalk it up to experience and move on. Everyone is on a high now following Tom’s debut World Superbike podium so we can’t wait to get to Croft and continue with the British Championship.”
Meanwhile, HM Plant Honda rider Crutchlow recovered from a DNF in race one to record a second-place finish in race two, behind former BSB champion Ryuichi Kiyonari -a result he dedicated to Chris Jones, who tragically passed away following an accident in the previous round at Brands Hatch.
“This result is going to Jonesy - my good mate Craig Jones,” said Cruchlow. “Obviously I was disappointed in the first outing with the problem I had, but I so wanted to make amends in race two, which I did.
“I was confident of catching Kiyo when we were clear of the pack, but as soon as I got close I was getting spray and debris on my visor so it was difficult to close on him to make a pass.
“Discretion is the better part of valour and eventually I decided to stick in second and get a good result for HM Plant Honda and myself. Thanks to the team for all the hard work they put in this weekend.”
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