One of the brightest stars to have emerged from the British racing scene recently, Sykes already had significant Superbike experience before joining WSB for the first time last year. A proven podium rider as a WSB wildcard in 2008, Tom is stepping up again in 2010, as he rejoins some familiar faces in his pit garage.
Name:
Tom Sykes
Riding Number:
66
Class:
World Superbike
Date of birth:
19 August 1985
Hometown:
Huddersfield
Nationality:
British
During a career that started out running on two strokes GP style machinery, 24-year-old Tom Sykes has turned himself into one of the best Superbike riders in the world in a relatively short time.
Racing his grandfather’s 600 Kawasaki roadbike for a short time in the UK, just to understand how a four-stroke machine worked on a circuit, Sykes soon moved into the British Supersport Championship proper, enjoyed almost instant success, and was runner up in the 2006 season.
Paul Bird Motorsport picked up Tom for a season of BSB racing in 2007, and five podium places contributed to a fine top six ranking, in arguably the toughest domestic championship there is.
A year later and, after posting race wins in the UK series for another team, and taking a podium in the British round of the World Superbike Championship, Tom was in a strong position to be signed for WSB full time in 2009.
A tough first year, marred by injury towards the end, was not in Tom’s pre-season script, but he did impress on occasion, and finished ahead of many bigger WSB names.
It says much about Tom’s abilities and potential that in a year when many top riders were available for any top team to pick, the official Kawasaki squad has opted to go with the Yorkshireman, based on their previous shared experience in BSB in 2007.
Career Resume
2009:
9th Superbike World Championship
2008:
4th | British Superbike Championship, podium in WSB as wildcard
2007:
6th | British Superbike Championship
2006:
2nd | British Supersport Championship
2005:
6th | British Supersport Championship
