2013 WorldSBK champion Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had a luckless but productive weekend at the Pirelli Italian Round at Imola. The 33-year-old from Huddersfield was running a strong third in Race 1 before a technical problem halted him in his bid for a first podium of the season, whilst another technical problem ahead of the Tissot Superpole Race prompted him to start from pit lane, having missed the warm up lap.

However, a phenomenal come back from Sykes saw him finish eighth, almost passing Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) on the final lap. With such a comeback, Sykes was scheduled to start in eighth ahead of Race 2 before the unfortunate but unavoidable cancellation.

Despite not having the best weekend on paper, a frustrated Sykes remains positive of a strong result at Jerez and hopes to continue the European season momentum: “What can I say? It’s just been a little bit of a frustrating weekend for myself. The whole of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team had a good Friday and we have obviously made some progress on the chassis etc and I was feeling like we could have some strong results here.”

Speaking about the decision to abandon Race 2 due to track conditions, Sykes fully supported the decision, citing rider safety as the top priority: “I was excited but, I have to say ‘fair play’ to the organisers, I think they made a very calculated call and today, that was the right call. It is always a shame to let the fans down but ultimately, I think it was the right call. Rolling on now to the next round, hopefully we can carry some of this momentum and hopefully, find something extra!”

With Sykes’ competitiveness back at the front end of WorldSBK, it is clear for all to see that the BMW S 1000 RR that he and teammate Markus Reiterberger are aboard is making gains each round, not just in the practice sessions and Tissot Superpole but now in the races.

Can Tom Sykes be back in the podium fight at Jerez? Find out with the WorldSBK VideoPass!