Tom Sykes refused to give in to the gastroenteritis that struck this weekend and competed as usual in the day’s races, which rounded out this second Superbike World Championship round at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok in Indonesia.
Yesterday, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider qualified seventeenth in Superpole, improving on his best free practice time, while in race 1 he finished eighteenth. His physical condition prevented him from expressing his full potential, but the Englishman nevertheless wanted to race and collect useful data with which to continue working on his ZX-10RR.
And this is why Sykes was back out today for Superpole Race and race 2, both of which were stopped with a red flag following accidents for other riders.
In the first, Tom had to return to the garage due to pains owing to the virus, while in the second race electrical problems with his Ninja forced him to retire.
And this is how a very tough round concluded for the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider who, despite the health problems, was still able to work with his team and continue developing the bike. The team’s technical staff will now take to the test bench as they work to remedy the issues that have emerged over the first two Superbike rounds in time for the next races.
The third WorldSBK round will take place on 21-23 April at the TT Assen Circuit in The Netherlands.
Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit – Indonesia
Superbike World Championship
Superpole Race: 1) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 2) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 3) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 4) Rea (Kawasaki) – 5) Bassani (Ducati) – 6) Vierge (Honda) …………. DNF) Sykes (Kawasaki)
Race 2: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Vierge (Honda) – 4) Rinaldi (Ducati) – 5) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 6) Petrucci (Ducati) – 7) Gardner (Yamaha) ………. DNF) Sykes (Kawasaki)
Tom Sykes
“It wasn’t easy to get on the bike and start the two races again today. My physical condition is unfortunately no better and I really suffered, especially in the sprint race, so much so that I had to retire, while the race 2 retirement was down to an electrical problem. I wanted to try and race today because it was important for me and the team to have feedback and collect data that can help us to have a more competitive bike for the next rounds. A big thanks to the team for their great work here and we’ll be back for Assen.”
