Tom Sykes breaks ten ribs, suffers thoracic and left ankle injuries

The British WorldSBK round proved to be a disastrous one for BMW rider Tom Sykes following a brutal highside in Race 2.

03 Jul 2023

Tom Sykes, BMW WorldSBK Donington Park 2023

Sykes, who was impressive during qualifying and Race 1, began the second race day with a disappointing P18 finish in the Superpole Race.

Looking to regroup in Race 2 Sykes instead saw his weekend end on the opening lap following a monster highside coming out of turn eight.

Sykes initially got to his feet before kneeling and requiring medical assistance. The 2013 world champion was not the only rider to suffer a crash as his highside had a knock-on effect behind.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi had to take avoiding action and rapidly slow down, but as he did, Loris Baz did the same before colliding with the Italian.

While Baz was okay, Rinaldi was visibly hurt and required an ambulance to take him away, as was the case for Sykes.

In terms of injury, Sykes suffered ten broken ribs including three in two separate places. He also suffered a thoracic and left ankle injuries.

For Rinaldi, the factory Ducati rider suffered a ‘mild concussion’ and a right ankle injury, in what was a disastrous round for the Italian rider.

Speaking about the incident, Rinaldi said: "It has been a really unlucky weekend for us. On the first lap of every race something happened. Yesterday, we know what happened, in the Superpole Race, when I was battling on the track I went off a lost a lot of time.

"This afternoon, Sykes crashed in front of me and I just remember being on the gravel. I tried to stop the bike to not go onto his body, but Baz hit me from behind and I hit my head quite hard.

"I don’t remember the fall, I just remember waking up in the gravel and with the medical staff around me. I’m lucky because my ankle is not broken."