Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/229152
INTERVIEW P96 WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPION TOM SYKES Sykes has a good relationship with his crew chief Marcel Duinker. always be grateful to Birdy for that. Basically I got the chance in 2012 to ride the factory Kawasaki, but still they were probably missing some trust in me. I had not done anything to show them otherwise in previous years, but also the bike in previous years did not allow me to show it. It all started to come in testing, when we were doing some incredible lap times - even if we were still missing race performance. I think during 2012, the first race in Australia we had a podium, then a double podium at the next round and then we started thinking, "Blimey, I am second in the World Championship – we're away." Basically now we have had two very, very good years, and yesterday with wrapping up the World Championship in race one. That was the stamp of approval. You have been growing a beard this year as a bet, but you had it shaved off pretty soon after race two. It was basically a bit of a joke between myself and the whole team and a dare from my wife, Amy. Being a proud Yorkshire lad, whenever I got dared when I was younger, I had to do it. No matter what it was. So the dare to grow the beard was a stroll in the park for me! What's left of my beard is on a cardboard box in my motorhome. I thought I should make myself just a little bit prim and proper right after I won. It was funny, because I turned up for the champions' on-grid group picture with a big handlebar moustache shaved into my beard, but my team manager Mr. Guim Roda was not so impressed - so out came the shaver again. I will be honest, I feel like a new man and it feels like I have lost two stone in weight. What do you think about World Superbike itself in 2013? For me World Superbike is an absolutely fantastic championship. So strong, the riders, the level is incredible. People always look at MotoGP as the pinnacle, and I dare say that the front guys at MotoGP are at a great level. We do not know the true level be- cause they are riding prototype bikes and we are riding, effectively, production-based bikes. We still do good lap times, but ultimately you cannot compare. It is chalk and cheese, but I daresay the front guys in both championships are very strong. This championship for me is great. I enjoy it a lot and the tworace format is very nice. I have always enjoyed MotoGP and World Superbike. I do feel the series is going in the wrong direction. I am totally against bringing it back to more like standard. We already have a great championship for that, the Superstock Championship, and that is a great series to watch. A great championship for riders to learn to ride big bikes and a great feeder class for the Superbikes. So I totally disagree with the way it is going. It is a false economy. The engine limit is going to cause some problems for a start in some smaller teams.