Since the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team introduced themselves to the world little over three months ago, everyone around the project has remained cautious, riders themselves, and expectations have been kept unpretentious. But after just six days of testing it might seem like initial predictions were too safe. The new S1000 RR has proven to be competitive right out of the gate, particularly in the hands of Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).

The 2013 World Champion finished the final day of pre-season testing in second position in the standings, growing each day a little further and showing consistency as well as outright pace. Testing may not be where the real talking gets done, but it’s an encouraging sign for the team that they can already rub shoulders with the best in the championship.

There’s no denying that Sykes is enjoying the start of his new adventure: “The S1000 RR is still really new in terms of track mileage, but this to me is what makes it even more impressive. It’s another test together and every time the relationship is getting much stronger. All the guys are working quite flawlessly really. Considering the obstacles we’ve had thrown our way, we’ve dealt with them quite well”.

“The target was to make one big change per session, which we’ve done. We’ve improved pretty much every time”, he adds.

Team Principal Shaun Muir meanwhile is delighted with how the development of the Yorkshireman’s bike is going: “Tom went through all the things we had planned to test and had his best package, which he ran on Tuesday afternoon in its final configuration. That is a very good base setting for him now to start the season”.

So, is there a goal for the weekend? Sykes still remains humble: “There’s no denying how fresh the project is, but ultimately we want to be competitive, and coincidentally this test has shown a bit of that. I won’t get ahead of myself, we know what we need to do and all we’ll do is try our best in the race weekend.”

How will the S1000 RR fare in race conditions? Find out this weekend as the Yamaha Finance Australian Round gets the season rolling on WorldSBK VideoPass.