Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) won a wet Superpole contest at Magny Cours after a final fast lap laden with risk and eventual reward as he had to work his way past slower riders on the racing line.

Sykes was also fastest in the wet Superpole One session on a busy track with a narrow drying racing line along the 4.411km length of the French circuit. Sykes therefore entered the second and final wet Superpole session on a high and was fastest at the mid point before Eugene Laverty temporarily edged him out.

Selecting a qualifying rear tyre as the track slowly dried out, Sykes went for another Superpole win to add to his career total of 18. He achieved his ambition despite finding other riders cruising on the racing line on two occasions, forcing Tom to adapt his approach but still come out on top, by 0.805 seconds, from his championship rival Sylvain Guintoli. Sykes’ best time was a 1’38.592.

Tom is now on a total of 19 Superpole wins, making him the fourth best qualifier in the history of the championship.

David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team) completed one Superpole session finishing 13th fastest, meaning he will start Sunday’s races off the fifth row of the grid. He overcame the affects of an earlier fall and his team did great work to get his machine ready for Superpole qualifying.

Aussie Mark Aitchison qualified 16th and his team-mate Federico Sandi took his Kawasaki Team Pedercini Ninja ZX-10R to 17th place.

Tom Sykes:

“I am happy because we have proved again that we can do it and that the bike works well here. This is a great place to get pole position, especially in these conditions. Three riders in two corners made it very difficult for me in the fast lap so I am sue it was very exciting for those watching on TV! From where I was sitting it was quite dangerous. I hope it is dry tomorrow because if we have good conditions everybody will be fighting and putting on a good show for the crowd. The Ninja ZX-10R is working well but we can still improve it even more in wet conditions. In dry conditions we know what to expect. Overall we will go and relax now, get a good sleep and come out ready to race tomorrow.”

David Salom:

“The track conditions were very difficult. I crashed yesterday but today I had a big crash and I have a lot of pain on my lower back. The bike was damaged but the team worked very well to change the bike and fix it, but in Superpole it was something of a lottery. I am happy because I was three positions higher on the grid than last week in Laguna Seca; even with these conditions. Now we will look at the telemetry and work for a set-up tomorrow. I hope the weather is good but maybe it will be wet, dry or something in the middle!”

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