Sykes Wins At Donington Park
Tom Sykes and the MCE Ducati team claimed their first Bennetts British Superbike Championship win of the season at Donington Park today with the 2013 World Superbike champion putting in a faultless ride for Paul Bird’s Cumbrian-based team.
Yorkshireman Sykes led from start to finish to take his first BSB victory since Brands Hatch in 2010 when he took the PBM Kawasaki to a hat-trick of victories whilst it was the team’s first win in the series since Christian Iddon took the win at Brands Hatch in July 2021.
Heavy rain yesterday had meant only one practice session was able to take place where Midlands-based Aussie Josh Brookes posted the tenth quickest time on the factory-backed and MCE Insurance-sponsored Ducati Panigale V4R with Tom further back in 19th. But with dry conditions today, albeit with a blustery wind, the duo were third and sixth in the final free practice session, with Sykes the quicker of the two teammates.
Sykes comfortably progressed from the opening Q1 session to join Brookes in Q2, and he continued with his good form, posting the third quickest time for his first front row start of the season. Brookes was slightly further back in tenth which was his first top ten qualifying position since Brands Hatch in July.
That put both riders in good stead for the afternoon’s 15-lap eBay Sprint Race and it was Sykes who grabbed the lead at the first corner, from where he never looked back and despite coming under pressure throughout, he controlled the race perfectly to eventually win by 1.4 seconds.
Teammate Brookes found the race a bit more difficult and although he held station in tenth for the first half of the race, the 2015 and 2020 BSB champion found himself back in 12th on lap eight. He regrouped in the closing stages to take 11th with the results seeing the two riders swap places in the championship table, Tom now in 12th overall and Josh 13th.
Tom Sykes: “I can’t thank the team enough and this win is for them. I was obviously hoping for more this season but Donington Park is more of a Superbike circuit than some of the others we’ve been to and although I still had a couple of limitations with the bike, I was able to ride round them and put the MCE Ducati where I wanted to, taking advantage of the strengths we had in other areas. I’ve a lot of experience around here and the two qualifying sessions was more beneficial as it enabled us to understand the bike a bit more. We made a slight change in between Q1 and Q2 and although I had to be conservative in some corners and lost a bit of time, it was good to be on the front row. I wanted a good, clean start and get away with the leaders and that is exactly what I did.”
Josh Brookes: “On the timesheets, it looks a bit better than where we’ve been of late but three leading riders were absent so it’s hard to see the real progress. I got away fine in the race, not losing any places, I just didn’t have the momentum to go forward. I lost two places mid-race eventually regaining one of them but with the limitations, I can’t perform. Tom and I have been pretty much glued together all year, in terms of pace and results, so I’m a bit mystified at his gains in performance this weekend although I’m obviously pleased for him and the team. I’d love to replicate what he’s doing here at Donington, so we’ll go again tomorrow.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “If Tom was going to win anywhere, it was going to be here at Donington given what he’s done previously in the World Superbike Championship and he rode a superb race, controlling it perfectly. Leading from start to finish is no easy task in BSB but that’s what he did despite the pressure he was under, and it was awesome to see and brilliant for the MCE Ducati team to be back on the top step. Behind the scenes, it’s been doom and gloom at times but, like all teams, we’ve continued to work hard, week in, week out and there’s been no shortage of effort. Congratulations to all the lads and to everyone that’s stuck by us through thick and thin.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship race one (15 laps)
1 Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati)
2 Jason O’Halloran (Yamaha)
3 Peter Hickman (BMW)
4 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
5 Glenn Irwin (Honda)
6 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
11 Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati)
Championship Standings
1 Ray 1126
2 Bridewell 1081
3 Jackson 1075
4 Irwin 1073
5 O’Halloran 1068
6 Ryde 1036
12 Sykes 145
13 Brookes 138
Pictures courtesy of Double Red: Josh Brookes (25) and Tom Sykes (66).
