PBM Kawasaki's Tom Sykes has revealed he took part in a secret test session in Japan after the last World Superbike round at Assen and is confident the data captured will transfer to this weekend's high-speed Monza round.

The Huddersfield youngster managed a fifth-place finish at the Italian track last year and believes the settings found during the test will help at this round and for the rest of the year.

“I am really looking forward to Monza because it is a venue I enjoy and a circuit we had a relatively good result at last year. We should be looking to improve on that result with this year’s bike," said Sykes.

"I have had a boost because we had a test in Japan after the previous round and we found some good settings, so hopefully those changes will transfer to the Monza round and then through the rest of the calendar.

"My crew chief Johnny, and also Danilo who is the man behind the electronic strategy, were there in Japan for the test and it was good for me to work with the Japanese development engineers again. It was all a positive. I am quietly confident and I do like racing at Monza.”