He's had the podiums and even managed a couple of pole positions, but after 42 races of trying, Tom Sykes can now finally call himself a Bennetts British Superbike winner after superb double win at
Oulton Park.
A long awaited first win for the 22-year-old, Sykes has been at the behest of bad luck this season, but was in command in both races to take the maximum 50 points and leap up the championship order.
Taking the lead of the first race from James Ellison on lap seven, Sykes simply went on to pull away from the rest of the field, crossing the line with a comfortable four second advantage over his rivals.
However, if the first race was considered relatively easy, the second event was certainly a tougher battle of wills for Sykes as he held off the close attentions of Cal Crutchlow, Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam.
Failing to put a foot wrong over the 20 lap duration, Sykes may not have been able to get away from his competitors, but at the same time never looked as though he would give up the lead.
Signalling Rizla Suzuki's first win since
Knockhill 2006 and their first double triumph since 2004, Sykes was naturally thrilled with the result, one that lifts him to third in the overall standings
“Words cannot describe the feelings I was having on the slowing down laps,” he told
Crash.net Radio.
“I wasn't able to enjoy myself too much after my first win because there is another race soon afterwards, so I just went back to the motorhome, had a word with my crew and made sure we made one slight change for race two.
“So I knew I had to do it again, but I was feeling confident and we went on to pull off a double. I am going to enjoy myself tonight!”
Speaking about the two races, Sykes admits he altered his style according to what he needed to do in order to maintain his advantage.
