Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

Tom Sykes

Browsing
Spoiler

Phillip Island WorldSBK Debrief – Saturday

By 14 Comments

WorldSBK came back with a bang in the opening round of the 2017 season. With five different leaders, and four manufacturers in the scrap for the podium the Phillip Island crowd was treated to a superb season opener that eventually saw Jonathan Rea come out on top.

The Northern Irishman edged the win from Chaz Davies, after a race that saw the field race with one eye on tire conservation and the other on their rivals.

Afterwards Rea compared the 22-lap affair to a cycling race, where everyone tried to shadow their rivals rather than show their true pace. With that being the case it allowed the likes of Alex Lowes and Leon Camier to fight at the front, and the Yamaha rider came within a whisker of the podium.

Keep Reading
By
News

World Superbike Season Preview – Part 2

By 4 Comments

Our trained World Superbike reporter, Kent Brockman, has his eye on the World Superbike Paddock, and is ever vigil for the next big braking breaking story.

Submitting a lengthy preview of what to expect from the 2017 WorldSBK season, we have broken it up into two parts in order to make more money whet your appetite ahead of this weekend’s season-opener at Phillip Island.  

If you missed it, you can read Part 1 of his WorldSBK season preview here, other continue on for Part 2 of this opus. -JB

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Could Jonathan Rea Really Beat MotoGP Riders on His WSBK-Spec Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R?

By 9 Comments

In a typically robust column written at the end of last week, David Miller, editor of Bikesportnews.com, suggested that the time that double World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea had set on Thursday at the combined WorldSBK and MotoGP test at Jerez had made the MotoGP bikes look a bit silly.

Rea had ended the day as the fastest rider on the day, setting a time of 1’38.721, nearly a quarter of a second faster than Alvaro Bautista, who was riding the Ducati Desmosedici GP16 at the track.

Rea had set the time on a modified version of a road bike, costing something in the region of €300,000, beating the satellite Ducatis (estimated lease price, just shy of €2 million), satellite Hondas (official lease price €2 million, actual cost to lease about 50% higher than that), and the factory Suzuki, KTM and Desmosedici GP17 (“I’m sorry sir, you’ll have to put your checkbook away, this one isn’t for sale”).

Miller draws a number of conclusions from this, some sound, some based more on hyperbole than reality.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Three Rider Opinions on MotoGP vs. WorldSBK

By 35 Comments

With MotoGP and WorldSBK sharing the track at Jerez on Wednesday, Jonathan Rea surprised the paddock by leading the way for most of the day. So, Asphalt & Rubber sought out three opinions on the differences between the MotoGP and WorldSBK bikes, from the riders who have ridden both. -JB

As the sun set on the third day of the Jerez Test, Jonathan Rea hogged the limelight with the second fastest time of the day. With MotoGP bikes sharing the track with World Superbike runners, the story of the day was that Rea spent most of the day leading the “faster” GP boys. 

The question in the aftermath however was how does this reflect on both championships?

Keep Reading
By
WSBK

How Kawasaki Plans to Defend Its WSBK Title in 2017

By 6 Comments

It took Kawasaki until last year to finally win a World Superbike manufacturer’s title. Having retained the crown in 2016, the Japanese factory will have to dig deep in 2017 in order to keep it.

Winter testing is a time to take stock of what worked well on your bike in the past, and what now needs now to improve. Kawasaki won over half of the races in the last three years, 39 victories from 76 races, but despite these successes the team is working hard to find improvements.

The final four rounds of the season saw Chaz Davies and Ducati dominate proceedings, and the Italian manufacturer’s renaissance over the last 12 months has made it the early favorite for title success in 2017.

New regulations will see split throttle bodies now outlawed, and there are also changes to the battery regulations. While Jonathan Rea has been running his bike in this specification for most of 2016 his teammate, Tom Sykes, has not.

Keep Reading
By
WSBK

Jerez World Superbike Test Debrief – Tuesday

By No Comments

The second day of the Jerez test dawned in similar circumstances to yesterday. With dense fog and cool temperatures, it looked as though there would be sparse action on track, but almost immediately Ondrej Jezek rolled down pitlane.

With the Grillini team only running for half of the allotted time, Jezek was keen to get out and gain some experience on a World Superbike machine.

While the Czech was spinning laps, the majority of the field was biding their time for the conditions to improve. While yesterday the KRT riders stayed in the pits all day they did get some wet weather running today.

Keep Reading
By
WSBK

Qatar World Superbike Debrief – Sunday

By 7 Comments

Jonathan Rea confirmed his status as one of the all time WorldSBK riders by claiming back-to-back crowns on Saturday, but in the final race of the season it was Chaz Davies who claimed the spoils.

For Davies, it was a seventh win in the final eight races of the season, and six in a row, but ultimately the Welshman came up just two points short of Tom Sykes in the fight for second in the standings.

Those final points came courtesy of a gift from Rea to his teammate.

Keep Reading
By
WSBK

Jerez World Superbike Debrief – Sunday

By 1 Comment

Jonathan Rea stands on the verge of defending his World Superbike title, after finishing second at Jerez in Race 2. The Northern Irishman came out on top of a tussle with his Kawasaki teammate, Tom Sykes, and will enter the final round of the season with an almost unassailable 48-point lead.

Rea and Sykes had a typically spirited fight for second, but once the champion was in front, it was difficult to see him being beaten. Sykes, despite having a faster bike in different areas of the track, was consistently unable to get past his teammate.

As has been the case so often in the past, when the Kawasaki riders fought on track, it was Rea who gained the upper hand, and in doing so he has almost certainly claimed the title.

Keep Reading
By