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Sykes back in the fight: 2013 champ "enjoying riding" at Aragon

Friday, 5 April 2019 17:25 GMT

    • Despite giving away a little bit of top end speed down the straights at MotorLand Aragon, the British rider is grinning once again!

    2013 WorldSBK champion Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) enjoyed a positive day at the MotorLand Aragon circuit in Spain, able to showcase the new S1000RR’s potential. The Huddersfield rider placed an impressive fourth at the end of play on Friday, less than two tenths from former teammate and reigning four-time champion, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).

    The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team brought their first upgrades of the season to the Motocard Aragon Round, with improved aerodynamics, visibly aiding Sykes, who will look to challenge back inside the top six after a tricky Pirelli Thai Round.

    With a radiant smile and positivity aplenty, Sykes said: “I have to say I am enjoying rider the BMW S1000RR. Again, it is another circuit that the bike is working very well at, especially during the corners. We are doing our job but unfortunately, we are giving away a little bit of time in the last sector with the long straight. I’m happy however, and we have a lot of information from today and I expect that we put this into an even better package for tomorrow!”

    The BMW S1000RR made a leap forward in performance overall but particularly in sector three, where Sykes was able to top the sector charts by more than a tenth of a second over championship leader, Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati). Sykes’ teammate, Markus Reiterberger, was third in that sector, confirming the BMW’s gains in the corners and emphasising the advantages of the bike's chassis.

    Sykes commented on the bike’s top speed and whether an engine upgrade would be coming soon, saying: “It can’t come soon enough, let me tell you! For now, my only know-how is how to ride the bike and give the engineers their feedback. I have to give credit to the whole of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, as for the amount of time we’ve had on track, they are doing a very special job. I’m sure with the upgrades in the future, we can become even more competitive.”

    Watch how Sykes and the rest of the WorldSBK grid battle throughout the Motocard Aragon Round with the WorldSBK VideoPass!