SYKES 4TH ON OULTON PARK GRID
 Rizla
Suzuki's Tom Sykes finished in fourth place today at Oulton
Park during free practice for round three of the Bennetts
British Superbike Championship, lapping the challenging Cheshire
track in 1min 37.344secs.
Sykes and his crew worked steadily through a number of chassis
changes to dial his Rizla Suzuki into the undulating 2.69
mile circuit and set his fastest lap right at the end of the
session.
Atsushi Watanabe rode to 16th place during the dry 50-minute
sessions putting his new found circuit knowledge to use, having
completed a track day with John Reynolds at Oulton Park ahead
of the race weekend. He gradually improved his lap times and
moved up the ranks to achieve a top 16 placing.
The fastest rider during the session was Honda's Cal Crutchlow.
Qualifying takes place tomorrow at 1505 - 1555 and racing
starts on Bank Holiday Monday with race one at 1300 and race
two at 1530.
Tom Sykes:
"We are getting there; I could have got a better run
on my fast lap but I made a little mistake, otherwise I would
have been lapping in the 1min 36s which is where we need to
be. We are working on the chassis and have plenty more changes
to try; I know what direction I want to go in. I hope we get
more dry track time but if we don't then it is the same for
everyone and we can gamble on the settings."
Atsushi Watanabe:
"I'm still learning the track but my feeling for here
is better than my feeling for Thruxton. Some corners are very
challenging and some very technical but there are lots of
places to overtake. The bumps on the circuit are difficult
but it is a good circuit."
Free Practice Results:
1: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 1:36.596
2: Leon Haslam (Honda) +0.151
3: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +0.448
4: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +0.748
5: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +1.022
6: Leon Camier (Ducati) +1.197
7: Karl Harris (Yamaha) +1.245
8: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +1.782
9: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) +2.001
10: James Ellison (Honda) +2.170
16: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +2.682
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