Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes (born 19 August 1985 in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England) is a professional motorcycle racer who first competed in World Superbike Championship during 2008. For the 2022 season, Sykes rejoined his former team Paul Bird Motorsport riding a Ducati in British Superbikes, finishing in 12th place.^[3]

Tom Sykes
Sykes at Silverstone, World Superbike in 2012
Nationality	British
Born	(1985-08-19) 19 August 1985 (age 38)^[1]^[2] Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England
Current team	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
Bike number	66
Motorcycle racing career statistics Superbike World Championship Active years 2008–2021, 2023 Manufacturers Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, BMW Championships 1 (2013) 2021 championship position 11th (184 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 364 34 114 51 39 3704.5 British Superbike Championship Active years 2007–2010, 2022 Manufacturers Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Ducati Championships 0 2022 championship position 12th (187 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 86 7 18 0 0 843

Following his fourth place world superbike championship finish in 2018,^[4] Sykes left the Kawasaki factory racing team and raced BMWs for Shaun Muir Racing from 2019,^[5] until being dropped by BMW Motorsport during the 2021 season with an announcement that Scott Redding had been contracted for 2022.^[6][7] For 2023, he races in world superbikes for a satellite Kawasaki team.

Sykes also holds World Superbike Championship records for the most career pole positions and ranks second to Troy Corser in career race starts.^[8] When reviewing his World Superbike statistics in early 2022, UK publication Motorcycle News quoted 34 wins, 114 podiums and 51 pole positions from 349 races.^[3]

In 2007 he gained his first ride in British Superbikes, riding a Stobart Vent-Axia Honda; Sykes finished in sixth position in the championship in his rookie year. Following this success he was signed by the Rizla Suzuki team for the 2008 season; he went on to finish 4th in the championship as well as making wildcard World Superbike appearances at Brands Hatch & Donington Park, where he impressed strongly, helping him gain a World Superbike ride at Yamaha Motor Italia for the 2009 season.^[9] For 2010 he raced a PBM Racing Kawasaki in the series.^{[needs update]} He won his first SBK title in 2013 for Kawasaki.

Career

Early career

Sykes credits his racing career to his grandfather Peter Brook who loaned him his 600cc Ninja for a race weekend and financing his start.^[10] Sykes raced in the Supersport division of the British Superbike championship from 2003 to 2006, finishing 8th, 5th, 6th, and as runner-up to Cal Crutchlow in 2006.^[11]

British Superbike Championship (2007–2008)

2007 was his first season in the British Superbike championship, riding for the Stobart Vent-Axia Honda team alongside 2003 series champion Shane Byrne. He finished 18 of the first 20 rounds, including a pair of 4th places at Snetterton.^[12] Second on the grid at Oulton Park,^[13] and pole at Donington Park.^[14] Sykes took his first two podiums at the Croft Circuit, to move up to 6th in the championship, immediately behind Byrne, and immediately ahead of Leon Camier on another Honda.

Shortly after joining the Rizla Suzuki team for 2008, he was seen testing a Suzuki MotoGP bike.^[15] Sykes started the 2008 with a 6th and an 8th at Thruxton (The first races were there as the season opener at Brands Hatch was snowed off). He took pole position at Oulton Park, but crashed at the aborted start of race 1, before finishing 5th on the restart [1]. He led race 2 until being taken out by Leon Haslam, who was excluded for the move. Sykes continued to finish towards the front of the field consistently scoring podiums at Brands Hatch (2nd), Donington Park (3rd) and Snetterton (3rd) all in the first of the 2 races. It was at Oulton Park where he scored his first two victories, taking the lead from James Ellison late in race 1 but leading most of race 2. He followed that up with a third straight win at Knockhill in the first race, and collected podiums for the rest of the championship. Sykes finished 4th in the championship with 316 points, 2 points behind Cal Crutchlow.

Superbike World Championship

2008–2021

 

Sykes at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, 2012

Sykes made his World Superbike Championship debut at Brands Hatch as a wildcard, impressing by qualifying sixth (ahead of three works Suzukis with more powerful engines, including title contender Max Neukirchner). He retired from a strong position in race 1 due to a hole in the radiator by rocks thrown up by Max Biaggi's Sterilgarda Ducati machine, but came back to finish 6th in race 2. He gained a second wildcard meeting at Donington Park in changeable conditions, where he proved even stronger. He again qualified on the second row, but got a flying start in race one and had a comfortable lead when the race was red-flagged due to oil from Noriyuki Haga's Yamaha. Knowing he had to finish within 4 seconds of Troy Bayliss to win on aggregate, Sykes lead early in race two, before easing off after seeing a white flag with a red cross, which typically means a slippery surface (often with the yellow and red striped oil flag), but racing in British Superbike Championship races, the flag neutralises the race under a full-course caution period with safety car deployment, so Sykes and Leon Haslam both eased up, anticipating neutralisation, but the time lost here proved costly, as Sykes failed to stay close enough to Bayliss, finishing second behind the three-time series champion. He was less competitive in race two, but his reputation had still been boosted.

On 11 September 2008 Sykes signed a contract with the Yamaha Motor Italia World Superbike team for the 2009 season, with an option to extend that contract until 2010 depending on results.^[9] Sykes had an average year finishing mostly mid-pack, while his teammate Ben Spies was at the front of the field. This led to Yamaha not offering Sykes a second year, instead hiring fellow Brits James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow.

Sykes signed for the Paul Bird Motorsport Kawasaki team for 2010, as had been rumoured,^[16] enabling him to stay in the World Superbike class. Sykes said

“It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to it. I believe that from what is in place in the team we’re going to be able to do a good job.”

The Kawasaki was relatively uncompetitive in 2010, but Sykes managed a strong fifth place at Monza. He was the team leader for much of the year, with the more experienced Chris Vermeulen struggling following a knee injury sustained at the first round at Phillip Island. Despite speculation as to his future with the team, Sykes flew to Japan to help test the ZX-10R, the bike the team will use for 2011.^[17] He made a wildcard appearance with the team in the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch.^[18]

 

Sykes at the Phillip Island 2017 Australian World Superbike round

On the final weekend of the 2010 World Superbike Championship season, Sykes confirmed that he had signed a one-year contract with Kawasaki that would see him ride in the 2011 Superbike World Championship season.^[19]

Sykes crashed in the chicane at Donington Park shortly after he passed an Aprilia and moved up to 4th place and he was taken out of the race while his teammates managed mid-placings. He finished close to last in race 2, but Lascorz made 6th. In the following race at the Nürburgring however, he gained his first victory in Race 2.

In the following season, Sykes became runner-up, missing the title only by half a point against Max Biaggi.

Tom Sykes has been crowned the 2013 World Superbike Champion after securing the third-place finish he needed to secure a popular title victory at Jerez, while Eugene Laverty took a dramatic last corner victory over Marco Melandri.

On 21 June 2014, Tom Sykes captured his 21st career Superpole at Italy's Misano World Circuit for round seven of the series.^[20]

By the end of the 2018 season, Tom Sykes and the Kawasaki Racing Team mutually agreed to end their sporting relationship.^[21]

Return (2023)

After a year of absence, Sykes signed a contract with Puccetti Kawasaki Racing. He will compete at Superbike World Championship in 2023.^[22][23]

Career statistics

All-time statistics

Series		Years	Races	Poles	Podiums	Wins	2nd place	3rd place	Fastest Laps	Titles	Points
British Superbike Championship		^2007–2008, 2010, 2022	86	2	20	7	6	7	0	0	843
Superbike World Championship		^2009−2021, 2023	359	51	114	34	38	42	39	1	3701.5
Total			445	53	132	41	44	49	39	1	4544.5

British Supersport Championship

Races by year

(key)

Year	Class	Bike	SIL	BHI	SNE	OUL	MON	SNE	BHGP	KNO	MAL	CRO	CAD	OUL	DON	Pos	Pts	Ref
2004	BSS	Suzuki	10	Ret	7	14	4	10	Ret	5	9	4	2	2	3	5th	123	^[24]

Year	Class	Biks	BHI	THR	MAL	OUL	MON	CRO	KNO	SNE	SIL	CAD	OUL	DON	BHGP	Pos	Pts	Ref
2005	BSS	Suzuki	Ret	9	2	1	1	4					3	Ret	4	5th	119	^[25]

Year	Class	Bike	BHI	DON	THR	OUL	MON	MAL	SNE	KNO	OUL	CRO	CAD	SIL	BHGP	Pos	Pts	Ref
2006	BSS	Suzuki	9	5	6	3	C	3	3	Ret	2	2	2	2	3	2nd	172	^[26]

British Superbike Championship

Races by year

(key)

Year	Class	Bike	BHGP		THR		SIL		OUL		SNE		MOP		KNO		OUL		MAL		CRO		CAD		DON		BHI		Pos	Pts	Ref
			R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
2007	BSB	Honda	7	5	5	7	7	6	5	6	4	4	Ret	7	6	4	Ret	6	6	4	3	3	3	5	2	2	Ret	7	6th	279

Year	Class	Bike	THR		OUL		BHGP		DON		SNE		MAL		OUL		KNO		CAD		CRO		SIL		BHI		Pos	Pts	Ref
			R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
2008	BSB	Suzuki	6	8	5	Ret	2	Ret	3	6	3	7	4	4	1	1	1	4	2	2	3	2	DSQ	3	6	Ret	4th	316	^[27]

Year	Bike	1		2		3		4		5		6		7			8			9		10		11		12			Pos	Pts	Ref
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R3
2010	Kawasaki	BHI	BHI	THR	THR	OUL	OUL	CAD	CAD	MAL	MAL	KNO	KNO	SNE	SNE	SNE	BHGP 5	BHGP 1	BHGP 1	CAD	CAD	CRO	CRO	SIL	SIL	OUL	OUL	OUL	16th	61	^[28]

Year	Bike	1			2			3			4			5			6			7			8			9			10			11			Pos	Pts
		R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3
2022	Ducati	SIL 12	SIL Ret	SIL 16	OUL 15	OUL 13	OUL 11	DON 11	DON 11	DON 7	KNO 12	KNO 11	KNO 10	BRH 13	BRH 8	BRH Ret	THR 9	THR 12	THR 10	CAD Ret	CAD 10	CAD 20	SNE 7	SNE 10	SNE Ret	OUL 10	OUL 7	OUL 6	DON 1	DON 1	DON Ret	BRH 10	BRH 10	BRH 11	12th	187

Superbike World Championship

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Bike	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		12		13		14		Pos.	Pts
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
2008	Suzuki	QAT	QAT	AUS	AUS	SPA	SPA	NED	NED	ITA	ITA	USA	USA	GER	GER	SMR	SMR	CZE	CZE	GBR Ret	GBR 7	EUR 2	EUR 10	ITA	ITA	FRA	FRA	POR	POR	21st	35
2009	Yamaha	AUS 10	AUS 10	QAT 7	QAT 5	SPA 7	SPA 10	NED 4	NED 6	ITA 6	ITA 6	RSA 10	RSA 9	USA 13	USA 9	SMR 8	SMR 7	GBR Ret	GBR 5	CZE Ret	CZE 7	GER 9	GER 8	ITA 9	ITA 12	FRA Ret	FRA Ret	POR DNS	POR DNS	9th	176
2010	Kawasaki	AUS 13	AUS Ret	POR 15	POR 13	SPA 11	SPA 15	NED 12	NED Ret	ITA 9	ITA 5	RSA 16	RSA 14	USA 13	USA 14	SMR 15	SMR 16	CZE 11	CZE Ret	GBR 18	GBR 14	GER 5	GER 7	ITA 6	ITA 4	FRA 7	FRA 11			14th	106
2011	Kawasaki	AUS 8	AUS 9	EUR Ret	EUR 12	NED 14	NED 11	ITA 13	ITA 11	USA 6	USA 10	SMR 4	SMR 14	SPA 5	SPA Ret	CZE 10	CZE 14	GBR DNS	GBR DNS	GER 11	GER 1	ITA 4	ITA Ret	FRA 8	FRA Ret	POR 10	POR Ret			13th	141
2012	Kawasaki	AUS 4	AUS 3	ITA 2	ITA 2	NED Ret	NED 6	ITA C	ITA 1	EUR 3	EUR 3	USA 8	USA 5	SMR 4	SMR 7	SPA Ret	SPA 8	CZE 2	CZE 2	GBR 8	GBR 12	RUS 1	RUS 2	GER 4	GER 5	POR 1	POR Ret	FRA 3	FRA 1	2nd	357.5
2013	Kawasaki	AUS 5	AUS 5	SPA Ret	SPA 3	NED 1	NED 2	ITA 2	ITA 3	GBR 1	GBR 1	POR 3	POR NC	ITA 1	ITA 1	RUS Ret	RUS C	GBR 11	GBR 7	GER 1	GER 4	TUR 3	TUR 2	USA 1	USA 4	FRA 1	FRA 1	SPA 3	SPA 2	1st	447
2014	Kawasaki	AUS 7	AUS 3	SPA 1	SPA 1	NED 2	NED 4	ITA 3	ITA 5	GBR 1	GBR 1	MAL Ret	MAL 3	SMR 1	SMR 1	POR 1	POR 8	USA 3	USA 1	SPA 5	SPA 3	FRA 4	FRA 4	QAT 3	QAT 3					2nd	410
2015	Kawasaki	AUS 6	AUS 4	THA 3	THA 5	SPA 3	SPA Ret	NED 5	NED 5	ITA 2	ITA 2	GBR 1	GBR 1	POR 2	POR 8	SMR 1	SMR 5	USA 2	USA 2	MAL 5	MAL 14	SPA 1	SPA 5	FRA 2	FRA 3	QAT 3	QAT 3			3rd	399
2016	Kawasaki	AUS 5	AUS 6	THA 2	THA 1	SPA 3	SPA 2	NED Ret	NED 2	ITA 3	ITA 3	MAL 1	MAL 8	GBR 1	GBR 1	ITA 2	ITA 2	USA 2	USA 1	GER 2	GER 12	FRA 3	FRA 3	SPA 2	SPA 3	QAT 4	QAT 2			2nd	447
2017	Kawasaki	AUS 3	AUS 6	THA 3	THA 2	ARA 3	ARA 4	NED 2	NED 2	ITA 4	ITA 3	GBR 1	GBR 2	ITA 1	ITA 3	USA 3	USA 2	GER 3	GER 4	POR DNS	POR DNS	FRA 3	FRA 7	SPA 3	SPA 5	QAT 6	QAT Ret			3rd	373
2018	Kawasaki	AUS 2	AUS 4	THA 6	THA Ret	SPA 6	SPA 6	NED 4	NED 1	ITA 2	ITA 3	GBR 3	GBR 6	CZE 3	CZE 16	USA 7	USA 8	ITA 5	ITA 5	POR 5	POR 5	FRA 2	FRA 4	ARG 6	ARG 5	QAT 2	QAT C			4th	314

Year	Bike	1			2			3			4			5			6			7			8			9			10			11			12			13			Pos.	Pts
		R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2	R1	SR	R2
2019	BMW	AUS 7	AUS 11	AUS 13	THA 9	THA 10	THA Ret	SPA 5	SPA 5	SPA 12	NED 10	NED C	NED 7	ITA Ret	ITA 8	ITA C	SPA 6	SPA 5	SPA 7	ITA 2	ITA Ret	ITA 6	GBR 2	GBR Ret	GBR 7	USA 4	USA 3	USA 5	POR 13	POR 7	POR 9	FRA 3	FRA 8	FRA 8	ARG 7	ARG 9	ARG Ret	QAT Ret	QAT 12	QAT 12	8th	223
2020	BMW	AUS 9	AUS 6	AUS 10	SPA NC	SPA 6	SPA 11	POR 8	POR 6	POR 7	SPA Ret	SPA 15	SPA 12	SPA 10	SPA 9	SPA Ret	SPA Ret	SPA 9	SPA 5	FRA Ret	FRA 20	FRA 10	POR 10	POR 11	POR 10																12th	88
2021	BMW	SPA 6	SPA Ret	SPA 4	POR 14	POR 7	POR 8	ITA 8	ITA 7	ITA 12	GBR 4	GBR 2	GBR 3	NED 7	NED 7	NED 15	CZE 9	CZE 5	CZE 9	SPA 6	SPA 6	SPA 5	FRA 9	FRA 12	FRA 10	SPA 8	SPA Ret	SPA Ret	SPA	SPA	SPA	POR	POR	POR	ARG	ARG	ARG	INA 10	INA C	INA 5	11th	184
2023	Kawasaki	AUS Ret	AUS 20	AUS Ret	INA 18	INA Ret	INA Ret	NED Ret	NED 19	NED 15	SPA 17	SPA 19	SPA Ret																												20th	11
	BMW													EMI 16	EMI 20	EMI 13	GBR 9	GBR 18	GBR Ret	ITA	ITA	ITA	CZE	CZE	CZE	FRA	FRA	FRA	SPA	SPA	SPA	POR	POR	POR	JER	JER	JER

References

1. Kawasaki Racing Team riders Provec Racing/Kawasaki Racing Team. Retrieved 30 October 2018
2. Provec Racing/Kawasaki Racing Team Retrieved 30 October 2018
3. BSB: Tom Sykes returns alongside Josh Brookes at MCE Ducati Motorcycle News, 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022
4. "WorldSBK". www.worldsbk.com. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
5. "Factory-Backed BMW Team With Tom Sykes Ready for 2019 WSBK – SuperbikePlanet". SuperbikePlanet. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
6. Tom Sykes talks BSB, MotoAmerica after 'sour taste' of WorldSBK exit visordown, 4 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022
7. Sykes: Indonesia pace shows I've still got WSBK "potential" motorsport.com, 23 September 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2022
8. "Will there be an eighth winner at Magny-Cours?". worldsbk.com. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
9. . Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
10. "Tom Sykes Sponsored Athlete – Kawasaki World Superbikes". 4 February 2012.
11. . Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
12. "Inside Bikes - Carole Nash Insurance Blog and Latest News". Carole Nash. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
13. . Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
14. "News - Bikesport News". www.bikesportnews.com. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
15. "Q&A: Tom Sykes - EXCLUSIVE". Crash. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
16. "Sykes signs for Kawasaki World Superbike team". Motorcycle News. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
17. "Sykes tests new Kawasaki ZX-10R". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
18. "Rutter dominates for Brands Hatch pole". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
19. . Insidebikes. Carole Nash. 4 October 2010. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
20. . Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
21. "Tom Sykes and KRT to finish sporting relationship at end of 2018 season".
22. "WSB: Tom Sykes joins Kawasaki Puccetti Racing for 2023".
23. "World Superbike: Tom Sykes to return in 2023 with Kawasaki".
24. . Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
25. . www.yamaha-racing.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2009.
26. . Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
27. http://www.suzuki-racing.com/2008%20Archive/news_page.aspx?OBJ_ID=14640^{[permanent dead link]}
28. . Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2010.

External links

 

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