Sykes battles through pain

From Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki's Tom Sykes, riding with a hand injury, got his Bennetts British Superbike Championship off to a solid start Sunday at Thruxton, scoring a sixth place in race one and an eighth in race two.

The gritty Huddersfield rider severely bruised his left thumb in a qualifying crash Saturday and had to ride through the pain barrier in race one, coming home in a strong sixth place after starting from 12th on grid.

In the second race he clashed with Leon Haslam (Honda) while running in fourth place. This caused a red flag as bike debris was removed from the track. He made the restart and after leading early on he eventually finished eighth.

Rizla Suzuki's two-time Japanese Superbike Champion Atsushi Watanabe finished race one in 17th and race two in 14th. This was his first ever race in the UK and proved a steep learning curve as he got to grips with the 2.4-mile Thruxton circuit and the riding styles of his fellow competitors.

Race one was won by Shane Byrne (Ducati) and race two by Cal Crutchlow (Honda). The third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship takes place at Oulton Park on May 3-5.

Race 1 Result
1: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 25:33.903
2: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +2.306
3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +3.573
4: Leon Haslam (Honda) +10.949
5: Leon Camier (Ducati) +18.745
6: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +19.048
7: James Ellison (Honda) +19.406
8: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +22.403
9: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) +22.709
10: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +23.902

Race 2 Result
1: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 19:05.302
2: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +1.807
3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +2.136
4: Leon Camier (Ducati) +7.942
5: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +11.863
6: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) +12.461
7: James Ellison (Honda) +13.632
8: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +18.759
9: Guy Martin (Honda) +23.395
10: Billy McConnell (Kawasaki) 23.899

Championship Standings
1: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 45
2: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 45
3: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 32
4: Leon Camier (Ducati) 24
5: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 18
6: James Ellison (Honda) 18
7: Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) 17
8: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 17
9: Leon Haslam (Honda) 13
10: John Laverty (Ducati) 9