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+--- Thread: Sykes Leaves America With An Extended Points Lead (/showthread.php?tid=16107)
Sykes Leaves America With An Extended Points Lead - Malcolm - 30-09-2013
![[Image: kawasakiwsbhdr.jpg]](http://www.ttwebsite.com/gifs/kawasakiwsbhdr.jpg)
Tom Sykes added a fourth place in race two today to his race one victory to take a 23-point advantage away from the 12th round of the series, as David Salom scored a strong ninth place.
Sykes was leader of the second race at Laguna for 21 of 26 laps but in the final two circuits he got passed by three riders and had to settle for fourth place. He had been fighting unexpected traction issues exiting corners for most of the race and rode well to stay in the lead for so long, but he was unable to make the most of his machine's performance as he could not get the power to the ground as he wanted.
His first race win on Saturday added to his 13 points for fourth today take Tom to a leading total of 361 points, with two rounds and four races remaining – the first next weekend in France at Magny-Cours.
The overall team performance at Laguna was strong as it was a new track for Tom and his team to face, while most of his top rivals had been here many times before. With regular team rider Loris Baz missing through injury David Salom’s ninth place in race two today was a good result for a rider more used to racing in the Supersport World Championship. He improved all weekend and rewarded his opportunity to race in SBK with good points scores.
Sykes and new second place rider in the championship Eugene Laverty are now tied on seven race wins apiece, as Tom looks to Magny-Cours next Sunday to repeat the race victory he took there last season on the Ninja ZX-10R.
Mark Aitchison (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) scored 13th today with his team-mate Federico Sandi an early retiree.
Tom Sykes:
“It was great to win yesterday and I led for a long time today but that was the first time we have struggled with grip all weekend. We were six or seven tenths off our best times in the same track conditions and we have to think about why that was. We know what our potential was here again today. Overall, we have extended our championship lead but it would have been nice to taken that second podium! We can keep improving and we have a couple of good circuits coming up so we will move on with confidence. In less than a week’s time we will be in France and doing it all over again. We have worked hard and well all race weekend and took a win on Saturday.”
David Salom:
“I had a good second race today and the finger I hurt yesterday when I hit a trackside marker gave me no real pain. The team worked very hard to make the bike suit me this weekend, it worked well in the Sunday race and I got a top ten finish. I enjoyed the race and the weekend, finishing both races in the points, and the work the team did was perfect. I have been happy with the experience.”
Guim Roda, KRT Team Manager:
“I would like to congratulate the all the team on the job this weekend. They all made great efforts to keep the momentum up and head to Magny-Cours with our target really alive. David Salom made a great job the first time for him on the KRT ZX-10R Ninja and at Laguna Seca; better from him was impossible. Regarding Tom's weekend, we are so satisfied with his performance. All had been perfect until the last laps of the second race. We have to be very proud of the job Tom did and thanks to him for keeping calm during those critical moments of pressure. He took away a great haul of points, which are all really important. Compared to Davies, Melandri and Guintoli, all of whom knew the track well, it was Tom’s first time here. We have to be very happy to beat those three guys and take away more points than them. Only Laverty scored more points than us so we have to say congratulations to him. We have special thanks for Kawasaki America who got involved in SBK here and to Kawasaki Europe and Japan, Motocard, Elf, Leo Vince and all our sponsors. They are helping in all our efforts to make a great season become unforgettable.”
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