Strong result from Sykes and Lowry at Magny-Cours.

The current TAS pairing of Tom Sykes and Ian Lowry took part in the GSX-R European Cup at Magny-Cours. Sykes came home in third place and team-mate Lowry secured fifth place along with the lap record.

This was Lowry's first time racing in the GSX-R Cup and he was pleased with the outcome, "It is a good result as I qualified eighth. The first lap was alright, I got off the line pretty good but I got a bit duffed up into the first hairpin and there is a very technical right hander and I had a few boys come round the outside of me there - how embarrassing!" lamented the young Irish rider, "So then I was about tenth or eleventh on the first lap. By that time everybody had settled into their positions and away we went, I picked them off one by one and set the fastest lap of the race. It's a pity I didn't get another couple of laps to see if I had the legs on the boys in front of me. All in all it was a pretty good race."

Sykes raced at the Eurospeedway in Germany where he took the race win, he had been impressed with the circuit and the set up as was Lowry with Magny-Cours, "It is a totally different track to what we are used to, it is a lot wider and a lot faster. The GSX-R 750s are very good, I've been impressed with them and the whole set up. We have been treated very well by Suzuki the hospitality and everything has been fantastic."

The Sunflower Trophy race takes place at Bishopscourt in Northern Ireland this weekend and the TAS squad will be out in force, "I'm riding for TAS Suzuki at the Sunflower meeting at Bishopscourt that will be our last round of the year. I'm riding the 600 there, I did ask Philip if I could ride one of the big bikes and he just sort of laughed at me!"

Lowry has made a verbal agreement to stay with the TAS team for 2007 racing in the British Supersport Championship once again.