Tom Sykes, the British Superbike rider for Rizla Suzuki, has secured another Wild-Card ride for the Donington round of the World Superbike Championship on September 7.
Sykes rode as a Wild-Card entrant at the Brands Hatch round of the WSB, where he finished in an impressive seventh place in race two after a retirement from the first race with a hole in his radiator.
The Suzuki rider took his third consecutive win at Knockhill last week in race one and took fourth place in race two, which ended early after several crashes.
Round nine of the British Superbike Championship takes place at Cadwell Park on Bank Holiday Monday, August 25th.
Here are the championship standings so far this season;
1 - Shane Byrne (Ducati) - 332
2 - Cal Crutchlow (Honda) - 222
3 - Tom Sykes (Suzuki) - 214
4 - Leon Haslam (Honda) - 199
5 - Leon Camier (Ducati) - 179
6 - James Ellison (Honda) - 177
7 - Michael Rutter (Ducati) - 174
8 - Michael Laverty (Suzuki) - 110
9 - Simon Andrews (Yamaha) - 108
10 - Tristian Palmer (Honda) - 75
Tom Sykes on the Rizla Suzuki, took victory in the first race in round eight at Knockhill on Sunday, with the second race being won by Leon Haslam on the HM Plant Honda.
Race One
Sykes took second place off the line after qualifying on the second row, as Michael Rutter on the North West 200 Ducati, led the race.
Leon Haslam was in third place after starting from pole position until he crashed out on lap ten, with his team-mate Cal Crutchlow having already crashed on lap six, a bit of a disaster for the Honda team.
Sykes almost high-sided off his bike as he attempted to get past Rutter, who shut the door forcing Sykes onto the curb. He finally got past Rutter on lap nine and Shane Byrne past the Ducati rider on lap twenty to take second place.
James Ellison on the Hydrex-Bike Animal Honda, past Rutter next to claim the final place on the podium.
Scott Smart crashed out on lap nineteen on the Hawk Kawasaki, and on the next lap there was a coming together for the MSS Discovery Kawasaki rider, Billy McConnell and the Rizla Suzuki rider, Atsushi Watanabe. Watanabe was seen being carried off track on a stretcher, although it is believed he is only badly bruised.
Lap twenty-seven, saw Shane Byrne making contact with the MV Agusta rider Chris Burns, nearly losing his second position.
Here are the results;
Pos – Rider – Bike – Team - Time
1 - Tom Sykes - Suzuki - Rizla Suzuki - 25:09.296
2 - Shane Byrne - Ducati - Airwaves Ducati - 25:12.389
3 - James Ellison - Honda - Hydrex Bike Animal Honda - 25:12.775
4 - Michael Rutter - Ducati - North West 200 Ducati - 25:15.048
5 - Leon Camier - Ducati - Airwaves Ducati - 25:18.641
6 - Michael Laverty - Suzuki - Relentless Suzuki by TAS - 25:18.757
7 - Karl Harris - Yamaha - Team Yamaha - 25:28.347
8 - Simon Andrews - Yamaha - Jentin Racing / Lloyds British - 25:45.351
9 - Tristan Palmer - Honda - Tena for Men Honda - 25:48.393
10 - Gary Mason - Honda - Quay Garage - 25:49.317
11 - Tom Grant - Honda - SMT Honda - 25:49.377
12 - Steve Mercer - Kawasaki - MSS Discovery Kawasaki - 25:10.086
13 - David Johnson - Honda - Team MAXXIS - 25:17.264
14 - Martin Jessopp - Honda - Riders Racing - 25:18.241
15 - Chris Burns - MV Agusta - STP Superbike - 25:19.257
16 - Leon Morris - Ducati - Brookspeed - 25:39.011
17 - Aaron Zanotti - Honda - Red Viper Racing - 25:46.845
18 - Tom Tunstall - Honda - Hardinge - Ice Valley Motorsport - 25:52.310
19 - Shannon Etheridge - Kawasaki - MAR Adept - 25:13.987
20 - Michael Howarth - Honda - Tena for Men Honda - 25:27.590
Not Classified
DNF - Billy McConnell - Kawasaki - MSS Discovery Kawasaki - 18:10.609
DNF - Atsushi Watanabe - Suzuki - Rizla Suzuki - 16:27.886
DNF - Scott Smart - Kawasaki - Hawk Racing - 15:24.634
DNF - Kenny Gilbertson - Kawasaki - Astro Racing Kawasaki - 13:15.947
DNF - Leon Haslam - Honda - HM Plant Honda - 9:53.231
DNF - Guy Martin - Honda - Hydrex Bike Animal Honda - 5:08.270
DNF - Cal Crutchlow - Honda - HM Plant Honda - 2:39.390
DNF - Dean Ellison - Yamaha - Co-ordit Racing - 3:18.893
Race Two
Leon Haslam took victory in the second race of the day at Knockhill after Shane Byrne crashed out and the race had to be stopped.
The race had previously been stopped after a three bike crash between Tom Grant, Kenny Gilbertson and David Johnson, on the ninth lap.
As the red flag was waved, Haslam was in the lead followed by Byrne, Rutter and Crutchlow. The race would now consist of only twenty laps.
Some of the riders had to restart the race from the pit lane as they had not got out in time, including, Cal Crutchlow and Guy Martin.
Here are the results;
Pos – Rider – Bike – Team - Time
1 - Leon Haslam - Honda - HM Plant Honda - 11:58.300
2 - Michael Rutter - Ducati - North West 200 Ducati - 12:01.514
3 - Karl Harris - Yamaha - Team Yamaha - 12:01.841
4 - Tom Sykes - Suzuki - Rizla Suzuki - 12:01.980
5 - James Ellison - Honda - Hydrex Bike Animal Honda - 12:04.891
6 - Simon Andrews - Yamaha - Jentin Racing / Lloyds British - 12:14.176
7 - Cal Crutchlow - Honda - HM Plant Honda - 12:14.839
8 - Leon Camier - Ducati - Airwaves Ducati - 12:16.908
9 - Billy McConnell - Kawasaki - MSS Discovery Kawasaki - 12:21.728
10 - Chris Burns - MV Agusta - STP Superbike - 12:24.739
11 - Steve Mercer - Kawasaki - MSS Discovery Kawasaki - 12:24.905
12 - Tristan Palmer - Honda - Tena for Men Honda - 11:38.548
13 - Scott Smart - Kawasaki - Hawk Racing - 11:44.627
14 - Guy Martin - Honda - Hydrex Bike Animal Honda - 11:46.835
15 - Atsushi Watanabe - Suzuki - Rizla Suzuki - 11:47.653
16 - Martin Jessopp - Honda - Riders Racing - 12:00.088
17 - Gary Mason - Honda - Quay Garage - 12:00.247
18 - Michael Howarth - Honda - Tena for Men Honda - 12:01.172
19 - Dean Ellison - Yamaha - Co-ordit Racing - 12:09.165
20 - Tom Tunstall - Honda - Hardinge - Ice Valley Motorsport - 12:16.967
21 - Michael Laverty - Suzuki - Relentless Suzuki by TAS - 12:18.095
22 - Shannon Etheridge - Kawasaki - MAR Adept - 12:20.258
23 - Aaron Zanotti - Honda - Red Viper Racing - 12:04.868
Leon Haslam on the HM Plant Honda, claimed his first pole position of the season today in the qualifying session at Knockhill.
Michael Rutter on the NW Ducati was in second place followed by Shane Byrne on the Airwaves Ducati and an impressive fourth place for Michael Laverty on the Relentless Suzuki.
Cal Crutchlow starts the second row of the grid on the second Honda ahead of Ducati rider Leon Camier and Suzuki rider Tom Sykes.
Championship leader, Shane Byrne, who is 99 points clear of the rest of the field, slid off the damp track in the session, but no damage was suffered and he returned moments later on a second bike.
Here are the results;
Pos – Rider – Bike – Team – Qualifying Time
1 - Leon Haslam - Honda - HM Plant Honda 52.692
2 - Michael Rutter - Ducati - North West 200 Ducati 52.966
3 - Shane Byrne - Ducati - Airwaves Ducati 52.974
4 - Michael Laverty - Suzuki - Relentless Suzuki by TAS 53.003
5 - Cal Crutchlow - Honda - HM Plant Honda 53.177
6 - Leon Camier - Ducati - Airwaves Ducati 53.268
7 - Tom Sykes - Suzuki - Rizla Suzuki 53.295
8 - James Ellison - Honda - Hydrex Bike Animal Honda 53.587
9 - Karl Harris - Yamaha - Team Yamaha 53.768
10 - Tristan Palmer - Honda - Tena for Men Honda 53.876
11 - Billy McConnell - Kawasaki - MSS Discovery Kawasaki 54.109
12 - Tom Grant - Honda - SMT Honda 54.409
13 - Gary Mason - Honda - Quay Garage 54.634
14 - Kenny Gilbertson - Kawasaki - Astro Racing Kawasaki 54.705
15 - Guy Martin - Honda - Hydrex Bike Animal Honda 54.734
16 - Atsushi Watanabe - Suzuki - Rizla Suzuki 54.818
17 - Chris Burns - MV Agusta - STP Superbike 54.891
18 - Scott Smart - Kawasaki - Hawk Racing 55.112
19 - Simon Andrews - Yamaha - Jentin Racing / Lloyds British 55.157
20 - David Johnson - Honda - Team MAXXIS 55.202
21 - Steve Mercer - Kawasaki - MSS Discovery Kawasaki 55.317
22 - Tom Tunstall - Honda - Hardinge - Ice Valley Motorsport 55.330
23 - Leon Morris - Ducati - Brookspeed 55.351
24 - Martin Jessopp - Honda - Riders Racing 55.638
25 - Dean Ellison - Yamaha - Co-ordit Racing 55.930
26 - Michael Howarth - Honda - Tena for Men Honda 56.279
27 - Aaron Zanotti - Honda - Red Viper Racing 56.407
28 - Shannon Etheridge - Kawasaki - MAR Adept 56.885
The British Superbike riders are at Knockhill this weekend for round eight of the Championship as spectators, teams and riders remember Craig Jones.
Craig Jones, 23, died last week after injuries sustained in round seven of the Championship when he crashed.
The HM Plant Honda rider, Cal Crutchlow will be wearing one of Craig’s crash helmets during the race as a mark of respect to his best friend, he said,
“I’m so fired up for this weekend. I want wins - nothing else. Knockhill is tight and twisty and it’s up-hill and down-dale but I do enjoy going north of the border. I’m hoping the sun will shine but we will do our best whatever the weather.
This will be a special, but hard weekend for me, after one of my best mates - Craig Jones - passed away at the start of the week. I will be wearing one of his actual helmets that he wore this season for the weekend and I’ll be proud to do so and I hope my results will make him proud of me.”
Jim Moodie will also take a lap of honour on the Valmoto Triumph which Craig won the British Supersport series on four years ago.
The tribute by Moodie will take place at 11am on the Sunday morning, with the triumph bearing the number 18.
In the free practice today, Leon Haslam and Shane Byrne were joint leaders at the Fife circuit, followed by Tom Sykes and Cal Crutchlow.
Stuart Easton was back on track today after suffering a broken wrist at the Snetterton round, however, after a dozen laps out of the circuit, he was replaced for the afternoon session by Steve Mercer. Easton felt he could not ride competitively as his wrist was too weak.
John Laverty high-sided heavily off his Ducati in the first free practice session and suffered concussion and rib injuries.
Here are the top ten riders;
1. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) 49.004s
2. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) +0.000s
3. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +0.002s
4. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) +0.008s
5. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 0.193s
6. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) +0.317s
7. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) +0.324s
8. Billy McConnell (MSS Discovery Kawasaki) +0.396s
Today the Superbikes are in Glasgow for ‘Superbikes In The Square’. Some of the fastest racers from around the world from British Superbike and Saloon touring car racing, wow the crowds with demo laps in the square from 4pm.
Fans get the chance to meet the riders and drivers when they sign autographs and show their racing machines off in the pit and paddock area.
The Airwaves Ducati riders, Shane Byrne and Leon Camier will be attending ahead of round 8 of the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill on Sunday.
Niall McKenzie, Jamie Whitham and Rob McElnea are all to be at the event along with a Suzuki stunt rider and there will be a Gordan Sheddan Touring Car demo.
Kicking off the event will be ‘go fast jet-pack man’, Texan, Eric Scott, who will fly over the square and track powered only by a jet-pack strapped to his back.
The race car of the late David Leslie, who died in aircraft crash earlier this year, will be on show in a fitting tribute to the Scotsman.
The free event is being hosted for the first time by Glasgow City Council along with a strong road and bike safety awareness message.
Here’s a little clip from last year’s ‘Superbikes In The Square’;
