In the penultimate FIM Superbike World Championship round KRT Rider Tom Sykes battled to two fourth place finishes and kept his championship lead in the process, despite losing some of his points advantage. Loris Baz (KRT) placed fifth and then seventh at his home round while KRT SBK EVO rider David Salom did not ride last Sunday, to rest his injured right hand in time to be fully ready for the final round.

Tom Sykes: “In race one that was the limit. I wanted to go faster but unfortunately we have had some limitations for some time in wet conditions and we cannot just quite get to where we need to be. For race two we were also restricted by conditions. It was a big shame because we know I can go much, much faster. Given the conditions these results are better than I expected, so there is one bonus. I wanted to fight with Sylvain and win the race but first I needed to finish the race. It could have been a lot worse but it could have been better. We are still in the best position in the championship so we need to go to Qatar and hopefully it lives up to its reputation as a desert and we will come out swinging.”

Loris Baz: “In race one at one stage I felt I was able to win the race and it was easy on the bike but from one lap everything changed. It was like the bike had changed in just one lap. On every right corner I was losing the rear. We changed nearly nothing for race two just a little thing on the rear but I could not do anything more and I ended up just waiting for the end of the race. Even going out of the pitlane it just felt strange and not so good. After race one I thought we could run in a good way but we were just struggling a little again. We do not understand because we used to be really good in the wet. I hope we find some more luck and finish the season strongly in Qatar.”

David Salom: “I think it was possible to ride with painkillers but it would have been too dangerous. When I am in good condition in the rain it is already difficult for me so with this injury it was a risk we did not need to take, especially with the championship position the way it is. I was checked by the doctor who made the operation when I get back tomorrow, we will see based on the results what has happened here. Now we have almost one month until Qatar to be ready to race there.”