Sykes turns on the style for MCE team

North motor sport with ZOE BURN

PENRITH’S MCE Ducati squad’s newest recruit Tom Sykes announced his arrival in style last week as he ended the first Bennetts British Superbike test of the year second quickest.

The 2013 World Superbike champion made his debut with Paul Bird’s team at last weekend’s three-day test at Snetterton.

Sykes, who arrives as team-mate to former champ Josh Brookes, wasted no time getting back to grips with the series he left more than a decade ago as he took to the Norfolk track’s 300 configuration for the first time since its redevelopment several years ago.

As the sun came out and track temperatures soared, Sykes and Brookes were both able to get under the existing lap record set by Shane Byrne five years ago on the PBM Ducati.

Both riders made hay in the sunshine on day two, with Sykes posting a hot lap of 1min 46.643secs, enough to keep him second quickest overall, as Brookes emerged fourth with a best time of 1min 46.686secs.

And for the returning Sykes, it was the perfect start. “Overall it has been a really positive three-day test,” he said. “We got lucky with the weather, everything seems to have gone to plan and I understand quite a lot more.

“Now we need to look at where we need to improve and keep working. The season is getting closer and after these three days I definitely feel more prepared.

As Sykes used the three days to get himself acclimatised to life in the British paddock once again, the rider who he has replaced at the team – Christian Iddon – was getting used to his own new steed.

The Blaydon racer has switched to Japanese machinery after joining the Buildbase Suzuki squad this season and is feeling upbeat about the year ahead.

“It was a productive test for us,” he said. “It was my first run out on the superbike so obviously we had everything to learn. We got up to a reasonable pace quite quickly and set to work trying to understand a few things. I think the bike is way better than me at the moment, but I also think that with the fresh set of eyes that I bring, there’s a few other things we can work on together so I think we can end up with a great package.”

Burnopfield’s Chrissy Rouse was also making the most of the three days on track as he got his first outing on the new Crowe Performance BMW Superbike he will run himself.

“It’s been a big learning curve and we had to pack a lot into the three days but it was definitely very valuable,” he said. “This is such a big step up and huge change for us all that we just need to take some time to get dialled in and understand the bike.”