---
title: "Sykes faces uphill struggle for title in Qatar"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2016/10/26/sykes-faces-uphill-struggle-title-qatar/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "SBK"
published: "2016-10-26T12:00:39Z"
modified: "2016-10-26T12:01:14Z"
---

# Sykes faces uphill struggle for title in Qatar

The Kawasaki Racing Team duo of Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes head to this weekend’s final round of the 2016 WorldSBK season with the small matter of the riders’ title to decide.

But with a 48-point lead with just 50 more available this year for Rea, 2013 World Champion Sykes has all but conceded defeat and has switched his focus to holding onto second in the standings.

Sykes managed to halt his teammate’s celebrations last time out in Jerez, the Yorkshireman taking to the rostrum twice and allowing Rea to only take four points out of him. But even he knows that the task at hand is a near-impossible one, with only really a minor miracle giving Sykes any hope of winning the title. Indeed, he needs to win the first race on Saturday and hope Rea finishes 15th or lower to stand any chance, but with the consistency shown by the Northern Irishman this year that seems unlikely.

The Kawasaki rider has never won at Qatar before, though has taken to the podium in third on four occasions, but is confident of being able to challenge at the front and has set his sights on claiming victory in at least on of this weekend’s races. That, he says, would be a ‘nice’ way to end the year, as would finishing runner-up in the championship.

However, the latter of these goals may be harder to come by. After Ducati’s Chaz Davies romped to yet another double success last time out at Jerez, the Welsh rider is now only 19 points adrift of Sykes and looks to have the best package on the grid currently.

“I am relaxed and looking forward to the races in Qatar and my ideal scenario is winning at least one of them. I feel we can go there and fight for the wins,” he said.

“It would be nice to finish the year with a win and if we can secure runner-up in the championship, it is not a bad season. Not a great one because I have definitely let myself down in the wet races but after a large part of the season had been completed I was not really expecting to be in a position to take it to the last round. Looking to this weekend, I really enjoy the format of the floodlit races and I am a night owl anyway!

“I am also doing the press event to help launch the race weekend on Thursday, which includes some traditional coffee tasting. For me, that cannot be bad! The weekend will definitely start well and hopefully we can finish it well, with a couple of strong results.”