SYKES BATTLES THROUGH PAIN BARRIER
 Rizla
Suzuki's Tom Sykes, riding with a hand injury, got his Bennetts
British Superbike Championship off to a solid start today
at Thruxton in Hampshire scoring a sixth place in race one
and an eighth in race two.
The gritty Huddersfield rider severely bruised his left thumb
in a qualifying crash yesterday and had to ride through the
pain barrier in race one, coming home in a strong sixth place
after starting from 12th on grid. In the second race he clashed
with Leon Haslam (Honda) while running in fourth place. This
caused a red flag as bike debris was removed from the track.
He made the restart and after leading early on he eventually
finished eighth.
Rizla Suzuki's two-time Japanese Superbike Champion Atsushi
Watanabe finished race one in 17th and race two in 14th. This
was his first ever race in the UK and proved a steep learning
curve as he got to grips with the 2.4 mile Thruxton circuit
and the riding styles of his fellow competitors.
Race one was won by Shane Byrne (Ducati) and race two by
Cal Crutchlow (Honda).
The third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship
takes place at Oulton Park on the May 3rd - 5th.
Tom Sykes:
"In race two I got a superb start from the third row
of the grid and was up to fourth place. The bike felt really
good as we had made some changes from race one. Unfortunately
Leon Haslam changed his line in front of me and I had no where
to go and ended up crashing heavily. I was a little battered
and bruised but otherwise OK so I got out in the restarted
race on my spare bike and started from the front row.
"I got the hole-shot and thought I could settle in but
struggled for rear grip and the tyre started delaminating.
The vibration got too bad so I dropped off the pace and just
nursed it home for the points. I'm really gutted for my team
as they worked hard this weekend and we didn't get the result
we had hoped for."
Atsushi Watanabe:
"For me this is a very bad result; my lap times improved
but I'm not happy with 17th and 14th," he said. "My
team is working well and I'm very happy with that. It was
good to race and I now understand BSB race and riders."
Jack Valentine - Rizla Suzuki Team Manager:
"The changes we made to Tom's number two bike following
race one made a big difference. It's a shame about the incident
with Haslam as I think we would have been on for a strong
result. On the restart we stayed with the same rear tyre,
Tom got the hole-shot and was having a really good ride. Sadly
his rear tyre went off and he dropped down the order. We were
hoping for a fourth or fifth place finish but it was so bad
he slipped to eighth. We will re-group and fight back at the
next round.
"As for Atsushi I think he did fantastic. He gets faster
every time he goes out on track. It is not until you are racing
that you really learn the tracks and conditions. He is doing
as well as we had hoped and his best lap times would put him
within the top ten easily."
Race 1 Result:
1: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 25:33.903
2: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +2.306
3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +3.573
4: Leon Haslam (Honda) +10.949
5: Leon Camier (Ducati) +18.745
6: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +19.048
7: James Ellison (Honda) +19.406
8: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +22.403
9: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) +22.709
10: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +23.902
17: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki)) +45.964
Race 2 Result:
1: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 19:05.302
2: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +1.807
3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +2.136
4: Leon Camier (Ducati) +7.942
5: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +11.863
6: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) +12.461
7: James Ellison (Honda) +13.632
8: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +18.759
9: Guy Martin (Honda) +23.395
10: Billy McConnell (Kawasaki) 23.899
14: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +25.146
Championship Standings:
1: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 45
2: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 45
3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 32
4: Leon Camier (Ducati) 24
5: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 18
6: James Ellison (Honda) 18
7: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) 17
8: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 17
9: Leon Haslam (Honda) 13
10: John Laverty (Ducati) 9
17: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) 2
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