TOM SYKES put his Rizla Suzuki into the number one spot during second free practice at a damp Mallory Park today, ahead of round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
The first free practice session was in full dry conditions and Sykes completed that in a strong third place, while Honda’s Cal Crutchlow set the fastest time. The difficult conditions in the afternoon reduced the lap times but should it rain on race day, the wet weather preparation will stand by the Huddersfield rider.
Atsushi Watanabe, two times Japanese Superbike Champion, rode to a much improved sixth place during second free practice having been 17th in the dry. He is still learning the Friendly Circuit and would have benefitted from more dry track time, however that was not to be and he made the best of the tough conditions.
Tom: “Free practice one was good as it was bone dry and I was putting in consistent lap times on old tyres. We made some geometry changes to the suspension and that helped matters too, so I’m feeling confident in our dry settings for Mallory Park. The second session was wet and we have made some big changes to our wet set up so it was good to get on track and try them. I felt very comfortable and confident, we will just have to wait and see what the weather brings.”
Atsu: “Today has been difficult because of the rain. It happens every race weekend, one session is dry and I’m learning, learning, learning, but then it rains. I had a track day here with John Reynolds so I have good feeling for the little track, I just need more track time either in full wet or full dry conditions. Damp conditions are not so good.”
Free practice 1 results:
1: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 56.698
2: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +0.095
3: TOM SYKES (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.151
4: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +0.337
5: Leon Camier (Ducati) +0.351
6: Leon Haslam (Honda) +0.882
7: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +0.900
8: Karl Harris (Yamaha) +0.953
9: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +0.996
10: Billy McConnell (Kawasaki) +1.049
17: ATSUSHI WATANABE (RIZLA SUZUKI) +1.832
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