Tom Sykes enters the Laguna Seca round of the Superbike World Championship in the USA with an eight point lead and a desire to go for more race wins to strengthen his position at the top of the table.

He will be joined in the USA by David Salom, who will ride as a replacement for the still-recovering regular KRT competitor Loris Baz, who fractured a vertebra at the tenth round of the year.

In a competitive yet rewarding 2013 season so far Sykes has ridden his official Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10R to six race wins, part of a total of 13 podium places. Along the way has also scored seven Superpole wins in qualifying and nine race fastest laps.

Last time out in Istanbul, Tom scored two podiums that extended his championship lead. His immediate plan in the USA is to shoot for race wins on his first visit to the iconic motorcycle race venue of Laguna Seca. Tom recently spent some time with Kawasaki in California during a promotional visit and is keen to get back to an area of the world he enjoys.

Supersport World Championship competitor Salom, like Sykes, is a new rider to the unique Laguna circuit and David will also be sampling the awesome official KRT Ninja ZX-10R for the first time. He was a privateer rider for the Kawasaki Team Pedercini squad last season. Salom missed some of the early part of the 2013 WSS season through injury to his right hand but he has been having successful treatment since his last WSS race in Turkey.

The weekend format in Laguna will be unique, with the first race on Saturday 28th September, following practice and Superpole, while race two takes place on Sunday 29th September. There are no regular WSS or Superstock classes at Laguna but there will be an extensive programme of AMA races.

The Laguna Seca circuit itself is an intense test for any rider and features the remarkable ‘Corkscrew’ downhill section - turns 8 and 8A - that in reality form a dramatic left/right chicane. Laguna was used as a Superbike World Championship venue many times until 2004.

SBK rider Federico Sandi (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) and Mark Aitchison (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) will be in the USA this weekend to try and score strong finishes in the points.


Tom Sykes:

“I am feeling happy with how things are going. It was good to leave the previous round in Turkey with an extended championship lead but I wanted to do even better there. We lost a bit of time in practice to the weather and it was a circuit I had not raced at before. If there had been a third race that weekend I am very confident we could have improved the set-up of the bike and made another big step forward. On the back of those two podium results we are going to Laguna Seca now, which is another new circuit for me. It is considerably shorter than Istanbul was and I should have more track time than I had in Turkey. I am happy and confident in the package of the Ninja ZX-10R. We are heading into the final three rounds and it is amazing how quickly they tick by. I have heard that Laguna is a beautiful track and that it is quite tight and technical, a bit like some of the circuit layouts I experienced when riding in BSB. Only a couple of weeks ago I was in San Diego, California, which is not too far away from Laguna. I am looking forward to getting back out there because I enjoy America as a country. I hope to bring back some good memories from my first trip to Laguna Seca.”

David Salom:

“This is a good opportunity for me to ride the official Kawasaki Superbike at Laguna Seca, although I am sure it will be a difficult challenge. The track will be new, this is the first time I have ridden the KRT bike, so I have a lot to learn. My old hand injury is much better now because I have spent a lot of time recently with doctors and therapists. I have found more power and stamina in it and I think it is good to race. I am really looking forward to Laguna and will give my best to get good results.”

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