Sykes banks on bike experience
Superbike racer Tom Sykes says all the riders will be confident going into the 2012 World Superbike Championship, but believes he will have the edge due to riding the same bike next year.
The 26-year-old raced a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R in 2011 and will be keen to build on his good form in testing when the season gets under way next year.
"I am very confident, I think 95 percent of racers are - we all believe we can win. But that aside, I am on the same bike, I know the bike, and given the people around me and my experience, plus my recent form in testing, we are more than just confident at the moment," said Sykes on the official World Superbike web site. "I went into the winter break very happy, more so because the two tests we had were relaxed and very constructive."
The former British Superbike racer added that he was not quite happy with his performances this year, despite winning Race Two at the Nurburgring in Germany. Still, he insists he will be going all out to improve when he hits the track in 2012.
"In a nutshell I did not achieve what I set out to achieve, for a number of reasons. The performance was less than I had hoped for, but that said I was probably not expecting to win a race in the first year of the latest Ninja ZX-10R," he said.
"But when the season started things were a little bit difficult to arrive at the front. So to win one after all was fantastic. It was the consistency side that was more frustrating, to not be able to finish every weekend inside the top six. I have no problem doing consistent laps over race distance given the right package. I do not want to be labelled as somebody who is just good for one lap because I am 100 percent sure that is not the case."
The next step for the Kawasaki rider and his team will be to undergo testing in Spain before making sure his bike is in perfect shape when the season starts on February 26 at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.
"We go to Almeria in Spain shortly after the testing ban is lifted and then I think we will go straight to Australia. We had good constructive tests in Spain just before the ban and we worked through all the things we needed to, so hopefully we do not have to do too much work before Australia. Almeria may be good for us, we may finalise one or two things, but it is mainly to turn the wheels and start focusing, so it's pretty much a warm-up. We will head to Australia with a clean slate."