Oulton BSB: Sykes ‘expecting big improvements’ at Donington

Tom Sykes’ return to the Bennetts British Superbike series hasn’t gone according to plan with the former WorldSBK king collecting only 13 points from the opening six races.

The Huddersfield rider, who was among the pre-season championship favourites, has yet to break into the top ten on his MCE Ducati Panigale but is expecting the next round at Donington to be a different kettle of worms compared to the weekiend’s Oulton action.

Sykes was basically untouchable at the Leicesterhire track during his time at Kawasaki on the world stage so should be able to try and make up any setup deficit with track experience.

“It’s been a little bit challenging this weekend but at least we now understand some of theparameters much more clearly, so we have a good idea of what changes we need to make to the MCE Ducati,” said Sykes.

“The laps in qualifying were the very first ones I’ve done on the bike in the wet and we had a great feeling, but with the information we’ve gained at both the test and in the three races, we have a positive direction in which to go. I’m expecting we can find a big improvement for the next round at Donington Park.”