Sykes pleased with Portimao progress
Added on Monday, January 26th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Sykes was one of four Brits in the top ten.
Tom Sykes was amongst the satisfied British riders at Portimao this weekend as he prepared for his full World Superbikes debut with the fourth fastest time of the weekend.
The Huddersfield-born rider, who made two wildcard appearances in the championship last season on a BSB standard bike, did enough to secure a factory ride for the 2009 season and was amongst four Brits who finished in the top ten overall times after the three-day test.
Sykes recorded a time of 1:43.546 to finish behind Shane Byrne, Noriyuki Haga - one of the two riders that he replaced at Yamaha - and new teammate Ben Spies to set a positive marker for the opening round of the season in Australia on March 1.
“Yesterday when we had a bit more stable weather I had two hours good track time,” said Sykes. “We used the time wisely and chipped away every time went out, a bit of improvement with everything and I got a nice feeling with the bike and got fast consistent laps so was more than happy.
“I’m very satisfied with how the test has gone, we’ve made up for lost time in South Africa, I was a little behind before but have caught up! I’m looking forward to getting to Australia. A couple more questions we need to answer with the bike then we’re ready for the race!”
Teammate Spies was also upbeat about the team’s prospects as they build towards Phillip Island, believing that the new R1 is well equipped to challenge for the championship.
“For sure it was good to be here and get more time on the bike and work with the team, the rain was a bit dodgy so it’s been frustrating to get some decent track time,” said the American.
“In the first of the new format Superpole test sessions on the last day we were quickest, unfortunately for the second session it rained and I didn’t want to do anything silly so didn’t push too hard. We worked on some settings over the test and got down to some pretty quick times. We got to try a few things with the bike and made a big step up, taking half a second a lap off, but the weather didn’t allow us to get more.
“The bikes got good straight line speed now and we’re continually improving. I’m very confident we’ve got what it takes to win. The team have been great, we’re working really well together. I’m looking forward to getting to Australia and getting stuck in again!”
