Sykes takes first pole

From Team Suzuki

Tom Sykes took his first pole position for Rizla Suzuki at the sixth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Mallory Park Saturday and has vowed he can go even faster.

The Yorkshire ace had been in contention during every practice session and put on a domineering performance in qualification. He led from the start and even a mid-session switch to his spare bike didn't upset his composure as he continued to go faster, securing pole position with only moments left on the clock.

"I came round with two minutes to go in qualifying and my dash told me I recorded a 56.2s lap," Sykes said. "I was so close to pole I decided to get my head down and go for it. I had to try hard but a pole is a pole and I am delighted.

"I could have gone even quicker; a 55-second lap was possible but my spare bike was backing in and we didn't have time to dial in new settings so I wasn't quite able to go as fast as I wanted. The good news is that we can go faster with my number one Rizla Suzuki and that'll be ready for tomorrow, so bring on the racing."

Rizla Suzuki's double Japanese Superbike Champion Atsushi Watanabe showed an impressive turn of pace on his first visit to the twisty and short 1.41-mile circuit, ending up 12th on the grid and less than three-quarters-of-a-second away from his teammate in pole position.

Qualifying Results
1. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 56.005
2. Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +0.104
3. Shane Byrne (Ducati) +0.122
4. Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +0.130
5. Leon Haslam (Honda) +0.229
6. Michael Rutter (Ducati) +0.331
7. Karl Harris (Yamaha) +0.430
8. Tristan Palmer (Honda) +0.489
9. John Laverty (Ducati) +0.529
10. Billy McConnell (Kawasaki) +0.530