Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Sykes Back On A Kawasaki T om Sykes, the 2013 World Champion when he was an official KRT rider, had a first test on the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing ZX-10RR he will ride in 2023 during a short test at Jerez on Tuesday November 2. The supposed two-day test proved to be largely an afternoon affair on the final day only, for Sykes as well as most of the very few other riders there. Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes (KRT) plus two-day rider Scott Redding (BMW M 1000 RR) were the only other regular WorldSBK riders on show. Rea was fastest, Red- ding second on the newly ho- mologated race bike (complete with big aero changes), Lowes placed third and then Sykes was fourth fastest—but just over a second from Rea's fastest time. Of the overall WorldSBK comeback experience, Sykes said, "It was nice to be on familiar territory," he said of his Kawasaki return. "I am really happy, to be honest, because all things considered, it was really nice to get to work with all the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team to start the relationship. And just really try to understand some key points. Unfortunately, there was a bit of disturbance from track conditions. The test was very compressed but, honestly, I was pleasantly surprised with the end result. From here we know we have got a clear plan. Overall, we know where we can work forward now. I am happy and looking forward to more time with the team and track time with the bike in the next test." Being only just over a sec- ond from Rea, who had set a 1:39.911 best lap, Sykes really did appear to have exceeded his expectations, especially after setting only 34 laps, as opposed to 50 for Rea and Lowes, and 91 for Redding, who rode in all weather conditions. No qualifying tires or anything like it, said Sykes. "Because we only had those laps I think I used two, maybe three, sets of tires, but honestly even if there had been some, there was not the level of push from myself in being able to utilize anything like that. We needed to get some laps on X, Y and Z, and I did not want to jeopardize that at any stage. Credit to the team, it was a very hectic and compressed test and the main goal was to come away with some informa- tion and build. Obviously, you could see on the track that there was some commitment from other riders, going very well, so we know the benchmark and we will look at that another day. To be honest, that kind of thing was spoken about before the tests. After 34 laps and to have that kind of distance between us, is only positive, to be honest." Gordon Ritchie IN THE WIND P44 Tom Sykes surprised himself with his pace now that he's back on a Kawasaki in WorldSBK. PHOTO: GOLD & GOOSE