The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is four rounds into the season but testing remains of the essence, as the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” welcomed riders and teams on track for two days. Tom Sykes (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) stole the headlines the day before the test as he was confirmed as Michael van der Mark’s replacement until the Dutchman is back from injury, after splitting with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team.

ONE LAP PACE: Sykes’ best strength still strong, faster than Redding on Day 1

Day one of action at Misano saw Sykes finish as the top factory BMW in P7, whilst full-time teammate Scott Redding was only P11. Whilst it was impressive from Sykes to get a lap in faster than his teammate – given the updates and changes that have been undergone in the team since Sykes left, such as a new brake supplier and new aero package – the race pace is slightly different.

RACE PACE: Sykes competitive, Redding faster

Perhaps as expected, Sykes wasn’t able to match his teammate. On day one, Sykes set 22 1’35s and four 1’34s, with a fastest lap coming as his final flying lap with a 1’34.416. He set a five lap run, all in the 1’35s and high 1’35s at that, whilst a six lap run followed straight after a trip in the pitlane and he was faster, with mid 1’35s. His final four flying laps were all inside the 1’34s, so it was a strong day for the returning #66.

Teammate Scott Redding was quicker in overall race pace, with ten 1’34s and 26 1’35s. In terms of his runs, Redding set a six-lap run with two laps in the 1’35s before getting down to the 1’34s, whilst a final run of the day saw the #45 set three mid 1’34s, where his fastest time came as a 1’34.637s, just over two tenths slower than Sykes over one lap. Sykes set fewer laps than Redding, with 61 (of which 40 were officially timed laps, vs Redding’s 83, of which 57 were timed. On the second day, the story was much the same, although Redding lapped faster than Sykes, albeit not quicker than day one’s time for either of them.

SHAUN MUIR’S THOUGHTS: “The old Tom is there… he has got good pace”

Speaking about Sykes returning, team principal Shaun Muir was happy to have him back: “For us, good to have Tom back and have him as a reference point. We can’t make any commitment long-term to Tom. It’s a big chance for him to prove what level he’s still at and I could see from only one hour on track, the old Tom is there. We know he’s quick, we know he has pace. That ticks one box.”

Evaluating the opening day, Muir’s praise continued: “Tom started with a base bike and we made some very minor changes to the bike, mainly ergonomically. We got him feeling really comfortable and I’m really pleased for him. Everyone can question his level and his ability and his commitment, but what we saw on day one was that he has got good pace. He jumped on the bike and immediately, he was really good to get the feedback in the improvements the bike and the team have made over the last season whilst he’s not been with us. That was really strong. It is important to get technical feedback and we know Tom is a good feedback rider and test rider. His development skills we’ve had so far have contributed to the development of the M1000 RR.”

SYKES WITH HIGH HOPES: “I hope to have some good results… I’ve been given a great opportunity”

“I know the team and bike from previous years and everything has been relaxed and like clockwork on day one,” began Sykes after the opening day.”Lap by lap, I was getting the old feeling back with the package, but it’s clear that they’ve made steps forward from the last time I rode it. Ultimately, here at Misano, a circuit I enjoy, so it was a good, productive day. Compliments to all the guys and BMW, they’ve made a big step forward in a lot of areas and that was very easy for me to see. There’s been small changes to my position on the bike compared to Michael and some little tweaks to setup and that was literally it. In the latter stages of the day, we got a good feeling with the race tyre and that brings a smile to my face.”

Talking about what he wants to get out of his time back in the BMW saddle, Sykes was coy, but hopes that he can enjoy it: “Little personal goals but it all depends how many rounds I do. We all know Mikey, I couldn’t believe it when I saw him in the gym just after having his femur fixed. I wish him a speedy recovery as it wasn’t pretty at Assen. I’ll just take it round by round and see where that leads to. Ultimately, looking at the short term like Misano, Donington Park and Imola, which are all circuit that I enjoy, so hopefully we can work in the way we’ve done at the test, as it’s been really productive. If we can work like that in the next rounds, I really hope to have some good results. I’ve been given a great opportunity, I want to try and enjoy it and see where we go after that.”

AT THE END OF THE… TEST: positivity is word of the day

Speaking at the end of the whole test and after finishing day two in P11 and not improving his time, Sykes said: “Ultimately, I am very happy with the test and I’m getting a bit more of an understanding of where the guys have made some lovely steps since last riding the bike. Today, we went through some items so it took a bit of sting out of the tail as we spent some time evaluating that and then in between the rain and sunshine, the guys did a great job. Myself and Scott have been working on the items and it has gathered some very good information on how to improve some limitations. The guys have got time to react and from that, hopefully it’s moving forward all of the time. For me, it’s good to get an understanding for the next event. The goal is to be competitive and enjoy my racing, so we shall see. We’ve had some good results here in the past with the BMW both in Superpole and in the races, so it’d be lovely to repeat the podium success. I think that’d be a fantastic target. There’s a lot of competition but I think if we keep working, we can find more speed than what we showed during the test.”

TEAMMATES WITH REDDING: how did it go?

In 2022, it was Scott Redding who replaced Sykes at BMW but in that proverbial ‘funny old world’, they’re now teammates. Sykes spoke about working in the box with him: “I’ve not really seen him much. We had a conversation on Instagram a couple of months ago but regarding in the box, I thought I might get a pot of tea and get to know him. But as soon as he’s finished riding, he’s on his push bike and gone, so I don’t really see him! Honestly, I think it’s good that we have very similar comments on the items, and that’s always good for the forward momentum.”

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