Tom Sykes has will race for the Paul Bird run Kawasaki World Superbike team in 2011 after signing a new contract extension at the weekend.

Speculation had suggested that the Yorkshireman, who joined Kawasaki at the start of the season from Yamaha, could be without a team in 2011 but a series of strong performances in the latter stages of the season appear to have swayed PBM into offering him a new deal.

Prior to the German round at the Nurburgring back in September, Sykes had just two top ten finishes to his name, both of which coming at Monza. However, since then, the 25-year-old has finishes outside the top seven on just one occasion, as well as claiming a Superpole at Imola last weekend.

Paul Bird expressed his delight at the signing, with big plans for both Sykes and teammate Chris Vermeulen in 2011.

“The team has been in negotiations with Tom Sykes for the past couple of weeks and I’m delighted to announce that he will remain contracted to Paul Bird Motorsport for 2011,” said Bird.

“Tom has done an outstanding job for Kawasaki this year and he is a big part of the team’s future in World Superbikes. We have a busy test schedule planned over the winter and we look forward to returning to the World Superbike Championship next year to be as competitive as we possibly can.”