All posts tagged tom sykes
WSBK Phillip Island test: Tom Sykes and Carlos Checa divide top spot on day 1
Ten World Superbike teams and eighteen riders are taking part in a three day private at Phillip Island ahead of the the official test that takes place February 20th-21st, before the season opener that opens on February 26th in Australia.
Not taking part in this test are Honda’s Jonathan Rea and Hiroshi Aoyama, Red Devil Ducati’s Niccolo Canepa, ParkinGO Aprilia’s Chaz Davies, Grillini BMW’s Mark Aitchison and Pro Ride Honda’s Raffaele de Rosa, while wild-card David Johnson on the Rossair AEP BMW is present.
The first day, that saw cloudy weather with intermittent sunshine was characterized by a few falls, including Crescent Fixi Suzuki rider John Hopkins who had a speed crash at the Southern Loop and broke a bone in his right hand. The American rider is now returning to the States for further for a further check-up and his partecipation in the opening round is now seriously in doubt.
Reigning Superstock 1000 FIM Cup champion Davide Giugliano who switched to Superbikes with Althea Racing also crashed as did Jakub Smrz and a contact between Aprilia’s Max Biaggi and Effenbert Liberty’s Maxime Berger sent the Aprilia rider down.
Since there are no official lap times, we’re more or less relying on the unofficial ones recorded by the teams so there will probably be several discrepancies.
Continue reading: WSBK Phillip Island test: Tom Sykes and Carlos Checa divide top spot on day 1
Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz conclude two day test at Almeria
Kawasaki’s World Superbike team which is now being run by Provec Motocard.com have started to prepare for the new racing season with a two day test at Almeria in Spain.
Sykes left with the best lap time of 1.34.6 seconds, while Lascorz took a 1.35.1. Overnight temperatures fell to near freezing point but track conditions once the sun had come up each day were such that the riders and technical staff had a great chance to work through the many set-up options on the latest race version of the Ninja ZX-10R.
The team will now take their optimum material and set-up data to the awesome Phillip Island circuit in Australia for two separate test sessions (and will be joined by other teams) before the opening race weekend of the season. The first of 14 rounds will take place there between 24 and 26 February.
Continue reading: Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz conclude two day test at Almeria
Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz talk about Valencia test
Kawasaki’s World Superbike team concluded a three-day test session at Valencia yesterday and Joan Lascorz and Tom Sykes were among the several Kawasaki riders present preparing for the upcoming 2012 season.
Both riders posted strong laps and Sykes, using race tyres, set a best lap of 1’33.1, which is a tenth or so faster than the best Superpole lap ever recorded at the former WSBK venue that was dropped from the calendar at the end of the 2010 season.
The team worked on suspension, linkages, electronics, chassis geometry and the latest ride-by-wire system under the watchful eye of several Japanese engineers confirming that Kawasaki is indeed taking a more active role in WSBK racing and in the team. Once the test ban (December 1st to January 15th) is lifted the team will head to the Almeria race track in Spain for further tests before moving to Australia for the first official 2012 test ahead of the first round of the 2012 season that starts February 26th at Phillip Island.
Tom Sykes: “The tests went well and we ended up doing a 1’33.1 lap time on a race tyre. We have worked through a lot of different things, we are working well in the garage and I am relaxed. It is no secret that when I’m relaxed I work my best. We have had some good weather - consistent weather - in Valencia and that made it better to work through all we needed to do. We have a new electronics package and found a better overall machine balance for me. We also went well at Aragon even though we only really had half a good day there, because of weather and some car tyre rubber laid on the track surface. Once the conditions improved it took us only four outings of four laps each to beat the kind of lap times I set at the race last summer. Right now we are on a package that we have not changed so much between the two tests. We have a fairly good base setting that works for race distance and, when we put new tyres in, for a fast lap time as well. I think we have come a long way even since the post-season Portimao test. The bike tells me what it is doing quite a lot better than before, and the improved feedback tells me when I am arriving at the limit.”
Joan Lascorz: “I am very happy the way the test went because I set good lap times and I was very happy with the performance of the bike and the team. We made a lot of changes to the bike, changed a lot of general settings and worked on the suspension. Some are now much different from last year. All the staff worked well together again. I think I learned most from this test in terms of finding out more about our latest machine settings and then finding a more consistent good pace. These things should allow us to challenge closer to the top in 2012. Tom was very fast and we both worked well with race tyres.”
Tom Sykes to stay with Kawasaki in 2012
Kawasaki has announced that their rider line-up will not change in 2012, thus confirming Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz for the upcoming World Superbike championship.
While Lascorz was anticipated to remain with the Superbike team after Kawasaki decided to get more actively involved in the championship and decided to assign the factory effort to Spanish Provec Motocard.com run by Guim Roda and drop Paul Bird, so the British rider’s future was slightly less certain, but the negotiations now have confirmed a much rosier 2012 for Sykes.
“I’m very happy to be continuing with Kawasaki and the Ninja ZX-10R in 2012. I believe the bike has good potential and we saw some of that come through in 2011 with a race win in Germany and Superpole at Misano. These are the kind of results I am looking to achieve in the coming season on a regular basis and I really believe we can do this. I have a lot of confidence in Kawasaki and the team around me, so if we can improve a couple of points with the set-up of the bike on the track which I feel are restricting performance this would be a big step forward for us in the final results. I am looking forward to re-starting our test programme again very soon, ” said Sykes.
Tom Sykes tops QP2 at Imola with record breaking lap
The newly asphalted Imola track let times drop significantly from last year, and in this morning’s QP2 Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes not only topped the timesheet but also broke the previous circuit lap record that was set by Jonathan Rea just minutes earlier in the session.
The Kawasaki rider who took the Superpole last year at Imola, blazed through the Italian circuit stopping the clock with a stunning lap of 1.47.799. Jonathan Rea also was able to break the 1.48 barrier with his 1.47.973 which was just 0.174s adrift from Sykes.
Michel Fabrizio pipped Carlos Checa for third in his last flying lap, while Noriyuki Haga took fifth. Leon Haslam grabbed sixth, while the Yamaha factory team is struggling slighty as they usually do at Imola. Marco Melandri was seventh, while team mate Eugene Laverty qualified for the Superpole in 12th.
Coming in eighth was Jakub Smrz followed by lone Aprilia Alitalia rider Leon Camier, as Max Biaggi had to skip the rounde due to his injured foot. Camier was sandwiched between the other Effenbert Libery rider, Sylvain Guintoli.
CIV wildcard Althea rider Federico Sandi made the cut to this afternoon’s Superpole with his 11th place and 0.916s from the top of the chart. Also moving into the Superpole will be Troy Corser, Maxime Berger, Ayrton Badovini and another CIV wildcard, Alex Polita for Barni Racing team.
Continue reading: Tom Sykes tops QP2 at Imola with record breaking lap
Tom Sykes still in talks to retain Kawasaki ride
When it was announced on Sunday that Paul Bird had lost the Kawasaki factory contract for 2012, just after Tom Sykes scored his maiden World Superbike win at very wet Nurburgring, many were left wondering on what will happen to current factory riders Tom Sykes, Joan Lascorz and Chris Vermeulen.
According to Bird in his post race Nurburgring interview, Sykes was also issued his walking papers, but the English rider’s manager in a press release decided to clarify his client’s position, stating that discussions to remain with Kawasaki are still ongoing.
Sykes played a big part in the development and testing of the 2011 ZX-10R Superbike, while Lascorz and Vermeulen were sidelined recovering from their big 2010 injuries.
“In response to recent events, and as the sole appointed party responsible for negotiating Tom Sykes’ ongoing contracts, we can confirm the following:
“Tom remains a fully committed Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM) team rider and will continue to do so for the duration of his current contract. For the remainder of the season Tom’s primary focus is to produce the best possible results for PBM and Kawasaki, as his recent win at the Nurburgring would confirm. It is clear from Tom and also Kawasaki that there is a strong desire from both parties for there to be an ongoing relationship that can reap the full benefits of the work done to date. Discussions regarding this matter are in progress at this time.
“Once Tom’s plans have been finalised, these will be communicated via ourselves in the usual manner. In the meantime Tom will continue his role as a professional WSBK rider, doing his utmost to represent PBM and their associated sponsors, Kawasaki, and his own personal sponsors in the best possible way at all times.”
Source | crash.net
Tom Sykes wins red flagged race 2 at Nurburgring
Race 2 at Nurburgring was so conditioned by the weather that you were left wondering why the Race Direction didn’t decide to red flag it much sooner, taking into consideration the riders safety, instead of waiting for usual three fourths of the race to be over before putting a halt to the whole thing.
The Superbike riders rode in horrendous conditions, pouring rain, the track unable to drain the copious amounts of water falling and almost zero visibility and only the wet weather specialists were able to make something of it and even they signaled for the race to end as the riders began dropping like flies under the intense showers.
In this atrocious situation, it was Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes who took his first maiden win in WSBK’s, inheriting the spot after Noriyuki Haga who had lead the entire race from the beginning and had built up an impressive advantage of over ten seconds before sliding out just two laps before the race was finally stopped.
Effenbert-Liberty Ducati duo Sylvain Guintoli and Jakub Smrz completed the podium, and suprisingly Jonathan Rea came in fourth despite a high speed crash, limping across the finish line.
Eugene Laverty took fifth after an intense and almost race long battle with team mate Marco Melandri. Following the Yamaha duo was BMW Italia’s Ayrton Badovini, while Carlos Checa had a horrible start and ended up in 12th, however with all the crashes from riders in front of him he salvaged a very safe 8th spot. Leon Haslam also crashed out, but managed to rejoin and finish in 9th ahead of Maxime Berger.
Continue reading: Tom Sykes wins red flagged race 2 at Nurburgring
Broc Parkes to replace Tom Sykes as wildcard at Brands Hatch BSB round
Everyone was pretty excited when it was announced that the WSBK Kawasaki team would wildcard at this weekend’s British Superbike triple-header at Brands Hatch and see if Tom Sykes could repeat his 2010 victory, but unfortunately Sykes has been ruled out after his injury (a possible cracked right ankle and a thoracic trauma) during last week’s WSBK Silverstone round.
With Sykes out of action, Paul Bird has called in World Supersport rider Broc Parkes as his replacement to be fielded alongside other Kawasaki rider Joan Lascorz. Parkes is currently fourth in the Supersport standings with the Kawasaki Motocard team and raced for the Kawasaki team in World Superbikes in 2009.
“I am pumped about racing this weekend with the Kawasaki team and it will be great working with all of the crew again,” said Parkes. “I haven’t ridden a Superbike for a while where I have been racing in the World Supersport Championship so I need to adapt again quickly but the Kawasaki has seen some big improvements since I last rode it so I am looking forward to it. The depth of field in BSB has definitely increased and it is going to be tougher than before I think; you can see how strong the competition is from what John Hopkins did last weekend as a wildcard at Silverstone. It is a great opportunity for me to race again at Brands Hatch and I need to thank Paul Bird and everyone at Kawasaki.”
Kawasaki WSBK team to wild card at BSB Brands Hatch round
Kawasaki’s World Superbike team will be making another wildcard appearance, for the third consecutive year, at the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch triple-header round next month.
Tom Sykes, who is a former BSB rider, will try to repeat the two wins that he took last year and team mate Joan Lascorz will have re-familiarize himself with the English track after he raced in World Supersport before the World championship abandoned the track after 2008.
Lascorz and Sykes are currently 13th and 14th in the WSBK championship with the new Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Tom Sykes grabs the Superpole in wet Misano
If someone would have said that Tom Sykes would be in pole position for tomorrows’s World Superbike round at Misano, they would have been judged nuts, but they didn’t take in account a rain shower that drenched the Italian circuit would throw a big wrench in the Superpole session.
The Brit, who is known as a wet weather specialist, went through all three stints in the top two and finally layed down 1′55.197 lap in SP3 that let him beat Carlos Checa and take his second ever pole position after Imola 2010.
Due to the treacherous conditions, SP1 saw numerous riders fall on their fast laps, Ruben Xaus, Carlos Checa, Leon Camier binned it twice, Eugene Laverty and Jakub Smrz, who would later set the fastest lap. Max Biaggi busted the engine on his Aprilia which spewed oil on the track and had to run to get his spare bike before the timed session ended, that saw Michel Fabrizio, Maxime Berger, Ruben Xaus and Leon Camier not making it to SP2.
Gaining more confidence in SP2, but not enjoying the situation as he almost didn’t make the cut was Carlos Checa, who managed a last lap lunge to grab top of the chart with a best lap of 1.55.730 with Tom Sykes in second spot followed by the Effenbert Ducati duo Jakub Smrz and Sylvain Guintoli, Max Biaggi, Marco Melandri, Troy Corser and Leon Haslam.
Continue reading: Tom Sykes grabs the Superpole in wet Misano
Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz talk about Kawasaki Sepang test
The four day Kawasaki Cup ehm .. test at Sepang has come to an end and the 2011 Ninja has apparently made big strides forward for the 2o11 season. The Kawasaki team worked on suspensions, geometry settings, and tried out the final bodywork spec.
Despite the usual rain showers that Sepang has, Tom Sykes (check out the Grinner’s blue gloves in the pic) and Joan Lascorz, (Chris Vermeulen pulled out with knee problems) were able to lap unofficially inside the 2.04s mark with Pirelli race tires, which would make them faster than Mika Kallio’s, Aleix Espargaro and Loris Capirossi’s best laps during the 2010 Sepang GP race.
Here’s what the two riders had to say after the test
“I felt really good at this test and overall I am quite pleased with how things went,” said Tom Sykes. “We did well in the first couple of days and reached a high level, but even on the final day we made a big step and picked up more momentum. The step came from the geometry and chassis side, and we have such a good balance on the bike now for my riding style. This good direction should take us through to the start of the season. We did not have the chance to try and get a real fast lap but our pace was good and it was a really positive test. I’m looking forward to the Portimao sessions now, and we will have completed a lot of testing by the time the season starts.”
Continue reading: Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz talk about Kawasaki Sepang test
WSBK: Kawasaki completes another 3 days of testing at Aragon
With Aprilia and Yamaha set to do their testing at Phillip Island, six teams (Honda Ten Kate, both BMW teams, DFX Borciani, Alstare Suzuki and Supersonic Ducati who’ll be testing at Portimao today and tomorrow, the Kawasaki team just finished another three days of intense testing at the Spanish circuit of Aragon, after last month’s unofficial test.
Tom Sykes and test rider Katsuaki Fujiwara continued testing the new 2011 Ninja, with Sykes working on lap times and set-up, with a best lap of 1’58.5, while Fujiwara tried out some new parts. Also present were the other two official riders Chris Vermeulen and Joan Lascorz, who still are working on regaining fitness, even if Lascorz did a couple of laps at the Losail track in Qatar earlier this month for the world launch of the ZX-10R.
Tom Sykes: “We were pleased with the test and to be this close to the front at this stage was promising. Overall we had a good understanding of the complete package and we got through quite a few things. Finding a good base setting was the main objective, but at the end we also tried something a bit different on the bike, and again found quite a significant improvement. Overall, I am very pleased with the way things went.”
Continue reading: WSBK: Kawasaki completes another 3 days of testing at Aragon
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