Sykes Salvages Top Ten At Snetterton
With two Bennetts British Superbike Championship races at round eight at Snetterton today, it proved to be a challenging day for the Penrith-based MCE Ducati team and riders Tom Sykes and Josh Brookes with tenth and 11th place finishes respectively their best results of the day.
Yesterday’s race result meant Sykes and Brookes started today’s opening race, held over 16 laps, from tenth and 15th on the grid respectively but both riders had cause for optimism after a strong morning warm-up. Brookes, in particular, showed great pace on the factory-backed MCE Insurance Ducati Panigale V4R as he recorded the third fastest lap in the session, which was comfortably his best lap of the weekend.
Both riders were able to move forward on the opening lap from their starting positions, with former World Superbike champion Sykes up to eighth and double BSB champion Brookes slotting into 13th.
Two laps later and Sykes was up to sixth but as the race progressed, he slipped back as a big group of riders disputed the positions and he had to settle for tenth at the chequered flag. Brookes, meanwhile, was unable to improve and after a relatively lonely ride, he crossed the line in 12th place.
The final race of the weekend saw Tom and Josh start from 12th and 14th respectively on the grid but, unfortunately, Tom’s race only lasted two and a half laps as he was taken out by another rider on lap three, fortunately suffering no injuries.
For Josh, a solid start saw him gain three places on the opening lap and moved up to tenth on lap three after his teammate’s demise. Here he remained until half race distance when he was pushed back to 11th and it was there where he finished to consolidate his 12th place in the championship table.
Tom Sykes: “The weekend got off to a good start, but I suffered a big crash in qualifying which set us back a bit. I felt good on the bike in the races but tenth was the best I could manage in the opening race. Any hopes of a good result in race two disappeared when I was crashed into by another rider which was very disappointing but that about sums up our luck. We’ll dust ourselves down and regroup for the next round at Oulton Park.”
Josh Brookes: “We had a good morning warm up, but it proved to be false hope as I don’t think a few of the other riders were trying that hard in the misty conditions and we ended up having two more challenging races. The final race of the weekend was marginally better as although I didn’t feel that fast, the lap times were quicker than what they had been all weekend. It’s not an improvement to get excited about but I’m an eternal optimist and am determined to make things better. I’m as motivated as ever and although the championship isn’t possible, we have a lot of personal pride to fight for both as a rider and team in the remaining seven races, so we won’t give up.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “Not for the first time this season, there was a lot of desperation out on track this weekend especially in the first couple of laps and Tom was a victim of that in the final race. Luckily, he’s OK but I don’t know why riders aren’t bedding themselves in the first couple of laps. Overall, though, it’s been another disappointing weekend and whilst Tom had a couple of top ten places, and Josh scored points in all three races, we’re not a top ten team at present so we need to keep giving our all to get back to that position. Tom has got form at Donington Park which is coming up soon, with Josh having the same form at Brands Hatch and Oulton Park so we’ll look to end the season on a positive note.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race two (16 laps)
1 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
2 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
3 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
4 Glenn Irwin (Honda)
5 Peter Hickman (BMW)
6 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
10 Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)
12 Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three (16 laps)
1 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
2 Peter Hickman (BMW)
3 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
4 Glenn Irwin (Honda)
5 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)
6 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki)
11 Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)
DNF Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)
Championship standings (after eight rounds)
1 Ray 447pts
2 O’Halloran 381
3 Jackson 249
4 Irwin 247
5 Skinner 246
6 Mackenzie 242
12 Brookes 111
15 Sykes 96
Pictures courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (25) and Tom Sykes (66).
