Reigning World Superbike Champion Tom Sykes believes his difficult years with Yamaha and the Paul Bird-run Kawasaki squads were a blessing as they toughened up his mental attitude towards racing.

The Huddersfield rider, who currently leads the series by 43 points, had to live in the shadow of Ben Spies at Sterilgarda Yamaha before moving to the Kawasaki team and not being able to perform to the level he bleieved he was capable.

“What Ben did was fantastic. I knew I could be faster and I had ridden with the BSB Suzuki and put on some good performances the year before with an engine spec that wasn’t at World Superbike level,” said Sykes, speaking to Speed City’s Jonathan Green.

“I know that if things would have been good, I feel I could have challenged for at least top three in the championship that year with that motorcycle. It is what it is. There are a lot of riders that would sit and cry about it, but it has helped mould me into the person I am today.

“I had a couple of bad and difficult years. I knew where I could finish but I was fighting to get into the top ten. That is for a lot of reasons that I don’t want to go into but for me and I look back now and it is a bit of a blessing as it made me mentally very strong.

“Many people believe the grass is always greener but there’s a Yorkshire saying that it’s often fertilised with bullshit. Those difficult years have prepared me to fight for world championships.”