Sykes gets down to BSB business
Returning BSB star dips under the lap record to go second fastest
‘Overall I’m learning my trade quite well here’
Tom Sykes is back and he’s already on the pace. There were doubts over whether or not Sykes would be able to adapt quickly to the British championship after so many years away, but his performance at the Snetterton test suggests that he’s going to shake things up.
Sykes, who hadn’t ridden the Snetterton 300 circuit before, was one of six riders to dip below the existing lap record and ended the three-day official test second overall with a best lap-time of 1:46.643 – despite the MCE Ducati squad packing up early and missing the final session.
It’s a successful start to life back in BSB for Sykes, who is already getting to grips with the V4 R.
“I’m really quite relaxed and happy about our three days,” Sykes told MCN. “Overall, I’m learning my trade quite well here, we just need to adjust to a certain number of changes with the technical regulations, but I feel we understand some parameters and we know we need to focus on where we need to improve for the start of the season.
“I’m quite happy with the performance and I enjoy riding the bike. It’s good in plenty of areas, I don’t want to single anything out because for me it’s just the entire package. The PBM team is familiar territory for me. There are still some faces there from 2007, 2010 and 2011 so I’m just trying to settle back into there and BSB.”
Sykes is clearly loving life back within PBM and BSB already, and could be seen laughing and joking with his team in the Snetterton paddock. It’s a team he knows well, and, based on these three days, he’s going to be a threat.
Teammate Josh Brookes was also under the lap record and only ✚0.043s slower than Sykes. The Aussie is looking to put a tough 2021 campaign behind him and get back to the form that’s seen him clinch two titles and 54 race wins – which is more race wins than the rest of the grid combined. Data technician Chris Adams has moved over to Brookes’ side of the garage for 2022.
“He brings a lot of change,”
Brookes said. “He’s very keen to spend time working on throttle maps and throttle connection and to really understand what it is I want from the bike, and the changes, limited as they are, which can still make a big difference to how the bike feels, reacts, and even handles.
“I feel that we’ve recovered a lot of the feeling that I was looking for last year. I hope that can transfer onto other tracks, because this is just one track on one day, but at least the information is factual – it’s there, it’s been gathered and proven that I can make this motorbike go at this speed.”
If Sykes and Brookes can continue on their upwards trajectory, PBM will be serious contenders once again in their hunt for a ninth BSB title.
Leon Haslam’s return didn’t go quite as smoothly down in 17th. Haslam and VisionTrack Kawasaki spent time working on throttle connection and rideability.