Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes has been crowned World Superbike champion, after finishing third in the first race at Jerez. Huddersfield’s finest has had a superb season, with a total of eight pole positions and nine race wins this year.
It has been more than 20 years since a Kawasaki has won the World Superbike Championship (with Scott Russell) and that was down to the Brit's consistently fast season, and he joins the list of British riders who have won the title - Carl Fogarty, Neil Hodgson and James Toseland, - and the Yorkshireman is overwhelmed by his achievement.
“I am absolutely over the moon, and it has been emotional. I shed a few tears on the last lap and I have sacrificed a lot to get here. Hopefully this is our moment as we were so close last year. I have been waiting a long time for this and it is finally here. Now I will give it everything in race two,” said Sykes at the track.
In the race it was Aprilia's Eugene Laverty who led from the start with GoldBet BMW’s Marco Melandri never far behind, but the former MotoGP rider was not going to let the Irish rider take the win so easily. With two laps to go Melandri made a move after Laverty went wide, but his lead was not going to last as the Aprilia found the race pace to go back in the lead, and storm to the victory.
Sykes was four seconds behind the leading duo, but that did not matter as all he had to do was stay on the bike and finish in third, and that is what he did, followed by Laverty’s team-mate Sylvain Guintoli. With a strong performance by the Aprilia’s it has helped the team clinch the manufacture's title.
Elsewhere Red Devils rider Toni Elias rounded off the top five, followed by fellow Roman Davide Giugliano. GoldBet BMW’s Chaz Davies had a steady race and was able to hold off the charge from Fixi Crescent Suzuki’s Leon Camier.
Both tall lads had a comfortable outing and safely secured a finish inside the top ten with seventh and eighth places respectively. Pata Honda’s Leon Haslam did not have the best of races, and while he was in fifteenth retired to the pits on only the tenth lap.