SYKES TAKES 1ST POLE AT MALLORY
 Tom
Sykes took his first pole position for Rizla Suzuki at the
sixth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship
at Mallory Park today and has vowed he can go even faster.
The Yorkshire ace had been in contention during every practice
session and put on a domineering performance in qualification:
He led from the start and even a mid-session switch to his
spare bike didn't upset his composure as he continued to go
faster, securing pole position with only moments left on the
clock.
Rizla Suzuki's double Japanese Superbike Champion Atsushi
Watanabe showed an impressive turn of pace on his first visit
to the twisty and short 1.41-mile Leicestershire circuit,
ending up 12th on the grid and less than three-quarters-of-a-second
away from his team mate in pole position.
Superbike racing starts at 1315 tomorrow, Sunday June 29th,
at Mallory Park near Leicester.
Tom Sykes:
"I came round with two minutes to go in qualifying and
my dash told me I recorded a 56.2s lap. I was so close to
pole I decided to get my head down and go for it. I had to
try hard but a pole is a pole and I am delighted.
"I could have gone even quicker; a 55-second lap was
possible but my spare bike was backing in and we didn't have
time to dial in new settings so I wasn't quite able to go
as fast as I wanted. The good news is that we can go faster
with my number one Rizla Suzuki and that'll be ready for tomorrow,
so bring on the racing. Thank you to my Rizla Suzuki team
for all its support and help, my GSX-R1000 is fantastic."
Atsushi Watanabe:
"Mallory Park is very short, twisty and physical track.
It is strange but like it. I am disappointed with 12th place
but I feel maybe this is not so bad given my first visit here.
"We still make small changes to my Rizla Suzuki for better
feel and performance and maybe just little bit more will mean
I can compete well in the races. It will not be easy but I
forward look to top 10 results!"
Jack Valentine - Rizla Suzuki Team Manager:
"That was simply awesome; there is no other way to describe
it. Tom was mega on his spare bike and took pole position
emphatically. He would have been even further ahead of the
field if his number one bike had been available but an intermittent
fault meant it wasn't available - although it will be tomorrow
when Rizla Suzuki and Tom Sykes will be competing for a long
over-due victory.
"Atsu has impressed this weekend. He has brought a more
aggressive and determined approach to his riding and at a
circuit that was always going to be difficult to learn he
is ahead of a lot of good riders with much more circuit experience.
He is starting to show his teeth and will be determined to
get into the top 10 tomorrow.
"Well done to the entire Rizla Suzuki team for all of
their hard work. Well done also to Michael Laverty who qualified
in second and that makes it a one-two on the grid for Suzuki."
Qualifying results:
1: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 56.005
2: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +0.104
3: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +0.122
4: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +0.130
5: Leon Haslam (Honda) +0.229
6: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +0.331
7: Karl Harris (Yamaha) +0.430
8: Tristan Palmer (Honda) +0.489
9: John Laverty (Ducati) +0.529
10: Billy McConnell (Kawasaki) +0.530
12: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +0.731.
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