Half points but full marks for Sykes

Tom Sykes admits it is a shame he only received half points for his tremendous efforts in the sole World Superbike Championship race to be run at Monza as he notched up his second career win for Kawasaki.

The British rider has been a model of consistency from the opening round of the season, even if his three pole positions at Phillip Island, Imola and Assen had yielded stints in the lead, but not ultimately a race win.

Nonetheless, his second place starting position was enough for him to take the early lead during both starts, ensuring he has now led at the end of the first lap in each of the eight races so far.

However, with race one going on to be cancelled and race two stopped after eight laps, Sykes didn't get the opportunity to take full advantage of his apparent control over the opposition.

Indeed, Sykes was leading by almost nine seconds when the red flag, as well as the chequered flag, was dropped, but while he is disappointed to not get his full reward, he was otherwise delighted with his dominant pace.

"My second win for Kawasaki but my first this year and it was nice to get that one under the belt. It is a shame that it is only half points but we put on a good show in eight laps and I hope I put on a good show for the Italian fans.

"This was my first podium at Monza so that is good and the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R has been working fantastically well. Conditions have often been very bad so there has been a lot of talk and other things going on but it has been my job to keep focused.

"From the green light the feedback on my bike was fantastic and I was able to go about my business in a good way and keep out of trouble. I had a great start and got myself into the lead and as Elvis once said, "It's now or never." We went for it and every lap the bike was getting better, the track conditions better and I was confident with our package today that we could do a good race distance."

Though he missed out on the chance to take the championship lead, Sykes has closed the gap on Max Biaggi to six points with his home round of Donington Park coming up in less than a week's time.