A 1-2 finish from pole position marks Tom Sykes’s best-ever World Superbike Championship weekend, one that hauls the British rider up into the title fight.

The Kawasaki rider formally launched his World Superbike Championship title campaign by producing falling just 0.086secs short of a ‘perfect’ weekend at Assen, the third round of the world championship.

Starting from his 13th career pole position following another dominant performance in qualifying, Sykes was simply untouchable during the opening race, sprinting into an early lead that proceeded to multiply from the first lap to the last.

Crossing the line some nine seconds ahead of the chasing pack, the win marked a sixth career success for Sykes, but only his third when starting from pole position.

“Race one was great for us and we did all we could. We have had a very strong winter test programme, learned a lot and have a lot of information and data. Now we are finding where we need to be. Overall I am happy because we did a lot of hard work in free practice yesterday.

“To be honest I surprised myself a little but the Ninja ZX-10R is working great. We have some great people who fight in my corner and they have given me a strong package so that I can do quite a lot of what I want to do with the bike. That first race was nice and believe me, to see that pit board gap get bigger every lap is magical for a rider.”

With his dominance of race one making him the man to beat in race two, Sykes once again led early on but would find himself with Eugene Laverty for company for three-quarters of the race before the Irishman dived for the lead with three laps remaining.

Attempting to respond, Sykes would leave his charge until the iconic final corner chicane, but while he would set up the move correctly, a clipped kerb would lose him critical momentum in the sprint for the line, leaving him a mere 0.086secs short.

Despite this, a 1-2 from pole position marks Sykes’s most successful WSBK weekend, one that pushes him up to second in the overall standings, 28 points behind Sylvain Guintoli.

“Almost the perfect race weekend for us after winning Superpole as well. We have made progress after a slow start to the season so we will build more momentum now to move it all forward again. The bike was working well and was very consistent today.

“When Eugene came past me in race two I realised it was much easier to follow than to lead round here and it was just unfortunate that exiting the final chicane on the last lap I hit the kerb on the inside when I was trying to pass him, and I was out of the seat. It would have been great to win race two as well but I am happy with the day and we had and the great support at Assen from all the Kawasaki fans and some Tom Sykes fans.”

 

Results from Assen:

Race one:

1. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 22 laps

2. Jonathan Rea GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR +8.786s

3. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +8.792s

4. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 +9.225s

5. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +14.231s

6. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Racing RSV4 +16.150s

7. Chaz Davies GBR BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +22.570s

8. Jules Cluzel     FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +24.751s

9. Leon Camier    GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +30.311s

10. Carlos Checa ESP Alstare Ducati 1199 R +35.277s

11. Max Neukirchner GER MR Ducati 1199 R +44.355s

12. Michel Fabrizio ITA Red Devils Roma RSV4 +52.580s

13. Ayrton Badovini ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R +59.736s

14. Ivan Clementi ITA HTM Racing BMW S1000RR +1m 02.010s

15. Mark Aitchison AUS Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +1m 21.861s

16. Federico Sandi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1m 25.717s

17. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Grillini Dentalmatic BMW S1000RR +1m 42.710s

Not Classified: 18. Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 0 laps completed

Did Not Start: Leon Haslam GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR and Alexander Lundh SWE Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R

Fastest lap: Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 35.893s

 

Race two:

1. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 22 laps

2. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +0.089s

3. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +5.848s

4. Jonathan Rea GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR +5.590s

5. Chaz Davies GBR BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +7.359s

6. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 +7.404s

7. Leon Camier    GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 +21.095s

8. Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 +27.267s

9. Michel Fabrizio ITA Red Devils Roma RSV4 +30.223s

10. Carlos Checa ESP Alstare Ducati 1199 R +32.401s

11. Ayrton Badovini ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R +39.924s

12. Max Neukirchner GER MR Ducati 1199 R +43.904s

13. Ivan Clementi ITA HTM Racing BMW S1000RR +1m 00.169s

14. Federico Sandi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1m 01.853s

15. Mark Aitchison AUS Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +1m 02.664s

Not Classified:

 

16. Jules Cluzel   FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 15 laps completed

17. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Racing RSV4 5 laps completed

18. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Grillini Dentalmatic BMW S1000RR 2 laps completed

Did Not Start: Leon Haslam GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR and Alexander Lundh SWE Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R

Fastest lap: Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 1m 36.085s

 

Championship standings:

1	Sylvain Guintoli	Aprilia Racing	111
2	Tom Sykes	Kawasaki Racing	83
=	Chaz Davies	BMW GoldBet Motorrad	83
=	Eugene Laverty	Aprilia Racing	83
3	Jonathan Rea	Pata Honda	63
4	Loris Baz	Kawasaki Racing	58
5	Michel Fabrizio	Red Devils Roma Aprilia	53
6	Marco Melandri	BMW GoldBet Motorrad	51
7	Jules Cluzel	Fixi Crescent Suzuki	41
8	Davide Giugliano	Althea Aprilia	33
9	Leon Camier	Fixi Crescent Suzuki	30
10	Leon Haslam	Pata Honda	29
=	Max Neukirchner	MR Ducati	29
=	Carlos Checa	Alstare Ducati	29
11	Ayrton Badovini	Alstare Ducati	20
12	Ivan Clementi	HTM BMW	14
13	Federico Sandi	Pedercini Kawasaki	8
14	Alexander Lundh	Pedercini Kawasaki	7
15	Glen Allerton	Next Gen BMW	6
16	Jamie Stauffer	Honda Racing	4
17	Vittorio Iannuzzo	Grillini Dentalmatic BMW	2
=	Mark Aitchison	Effenbert Liberty Ducati	2