However, Sykes is now beginning to move beyond the ‘best of the rest’ status and is seemingly able to keep pace with the top four riders, a fact that should see him challenging for victory this weekend. Then again, James Ellison and Michael Rutter have shown flashes of front running speed this year and they will still be eager to get in on the act.
Elsewhere, Michael Laverty showed well on the Relentless Suzuki at
Snetterton as he continues on the fringes of the top fight, a sentiment shared by Simon Andrews, who was quick on the Jentin Yamaha at Snetterton but didn’t quite have the results to back it up.
Meanwhile, musical saddles begin in earnest with MSS Discovery Kawasaki welcoming James Haydon back to the British Superbike fold in place of the injured Stuart Easton, while SMT Honda also have a familiar face gracing the paddock this weekend in the shape of Sean Emmett.
Outside the top ten, the standout competitor is Karl Harris, who is beginning to put some kind of season together following his pointless first few rounds, the Rob Mac Racing rider no doubt eager to complete his full recovery from injury with a good ride at Mallory.
In the Daily Star Cup, Gary Mason is on a mission to continue his strong run on the Quay Garage Honda. Mason has won three of the four races he has started after replacing James Buckingham in the team, something that is likely to strike fear into the previously dominant John Laverty, whose championship advantage is looking all the more fragile…
