Cadwell Park British Superbikes: Tom Sykes tops opening practice

Tom Sykes has started his bank holiday Cadwell Park weekend in fine fettle, landing the fastest time in the first practice session in the August sunshine this morning.

Sykes lapped the 2.18-mile circuit in 1.28.398, a quarter of a second faster than Shane Byrne who in turn had the same gap on third fastest man, Karl Harris.

Sykes’ time is still one and a half seconds shy of Leon Haslam’s lap record around the Lincolnshire circuit.

Haslam himself didn’t have the best of sessions, ending the 50-minute free practice in fourth after crashing over the mountain with 13 minutes remaining.

Although the bike sustained quite heavy damage, Haslam escaped pretty much unscathed and returned out on track for the closing minutes.

HM Plant Honda team-mate Cal Crutchlow concluded the session one spot behind Haslam, but also had his own issues when he limped back to his pit at the end of the session with a suspected electrical fault.

Problems for Honda riders appeared to be rife, with Hydrex’s James Ellison missing much of the session while receiving physio in the medical centre with a possible injured hand.

Leon Camier rounded out the top six with a 1.29.170, appearing to have no issues with a return to the circuit where he broke his left leg a year ago.

CADWELL PARK BRITISH SUPERBIKE FREE PRACICE 1

1. Tom Sykes Rizla Suzuki 1.28.398
2. Shane Byrne Airwaves Ducati 1.28.640
3. Karl Harris Rob Mac Racing Yamaha 1.28.883
4. Leon Haslam HM Plant Honda 1.28.903
5. Cal Crutchlow HM Plant Honda 1.29.139
6. Leon Camier Airwaves Ducati 1.129.170
7. Michael Rutter North West 200 Ducati 1.29.751
8. Simon Andrews Lloyds British Jentin Yamaha 1.29.755
9. Scott Smart Hawk Kawasaki 1.30.153
10. Tristan Palmer Tena for Men Honda 1.31.025
11. Gary Mason Quay Garage Honda 1.31.069
12. Michael Laverty Relentless Suzuki 1.31.073
13. Billy McConnell MSS Discovery Kawasaki 1.31.135
14. James Ellison Hydrex Bike Animal Honda 1.31.163
15. Chris Burns STP Superbike MV Agusta 1.31.231
16. Atsushi Watanabe Rizla Suzuki 1.31.233