Kawasaki's Tom Sykes was only 20 per cent certain he would race at all following his massive highside on the opening day of Phillip Island testing, so leaves the track in positive mood after grabbing fourth place in the title standings.
Sykes raced with a cracked radius bone in his left wrist after the accident at Siberia and said that at one of his worst circuits, finishing only five seconds behind the leader in race one was something to build on.
“In race one, honesty, I was very happy with that top five. It is a shame because we had the package to go a little bit stronger. I managed the beginning of the race but unfortunately in the last six laps, just before I passed Haslam, Davies made a nice pass into turn nine," said the Huddersfield man.
"Unfortunately his style is a little bit different from the one that I have set the Ninja ZX-10R for this weekend and that mean that when I was behind him I could not do exactly what I wanted to do with the bike. We were five seconds from the front, last year it was 12, so at one of our ‘worst’ circuits we have closed a gap and all while I have been riding injured.
"I think there is a bit more to come. Race two was completely different but I am happy to have left Phillip Island in fourth position. Our rear tyre appears to have been spinning on the rim and I had vibration and chatter, so that sacrificed corner entry.
"It was a shame because I could not use the bike to its full potential. I am happy considering that last week I was lying at the side of the track, 80 per cent certain I would not be able to ride today. We got good points and we can build on this.”