Reigning World Superbike Champion Carlos Checa has applauded Tom Sykes' performance in World Superbike Superpole today, saying the flying Kawasaki man was proving a handful.

The Althea Ducati man ended up third on the grid after going back to race tyres in the third session but after a messy final lap had to concede pole position to the Briton for the second round in a row.

“I used race tyres for the first and second phases of the Superpole, turning to the qualifier only at the start of the final phase. I wasn’t able to put together the lap I wanted and so, with minutes to spare, I went back out on a race tyre and made the third fastest time, though unfortunately it wasn’t a clean lap. We’re satisfied, as it would have been difficult to beat Sykes here today - congratulations to him. I expect two exciting races tomorrow and would say the forecast is good is far as we’re concerned," said the Spaniard.