Sepang 2015 proved to be a weekend to forget for Tom Sykes. Although on Saturday the 2013 World Superbike Champion had become the first rider this season to clinch four pole positions, race day would not prove to be so positive.

In Race 2, he would finish 14th following two incidents – the second having been caused by damage in the first, when he contacted with Max Biaggi. However, the biggest disappointment was arguably the loss of a massive lead in Race 1.

“I certainly didn’t feel like I was over-stressing the tyres,” Sykes said, having seen an advantage of over three seconds evaporate in the closing stages of Race 1. “The last five laps were the longest five laps of my career. I really struggled and couldn’t get any lean angle. It was a big, big shame.

“I wasn’t expecting the tyres to drop off. We used an old rear tyre in Warm-Up; on the 12th lap it was still working very well. Nobody was expecting this amount of drop-off. I like to get on the bike and push hard. It would have been nice to do that for 16 laps but it wasn’t the case - the track conditions didn’t accept my riding style.”

Sykes has now returned home to the UK where he has greeted wife Amie, first daughter Millie and the family’s new baby daughter who was born last Thursday.

The full video interview with Tom Sykes can be viewed on WorldSBK.com.