Kawasaki Racing’s Tom Sykes says he is ‘rethinking’ how he rides his ZX-10RR this weekend, having endured a fairly tricky start to the season.
New rules on throttle bodies and the need for bikes to now carry generators for batteries has seen Sykes affected the most, as his aggressive approach of fast-in, fast-out does not suit the changes to his machine’s characteristics.
Sykes also admits that he is not making the most of fresh rubber at the start of races, a fact evidenced by his fastest lap in race two in Thailand coming on his final tour.
“I am looking forward to coming back to the European tracks now after a steady start to the season,” he said.
“I feel we have learned in the first two rounds, and now our aim is to move forward and be stronger in terms of initial lap time.
“I am rethinking my approach to riding, and my fastest lap of the race in Thailand was on the last lap.”
The Yorkshireman has enjoyed a decent record at the MotorLand Aragon track, taking two wins and four podiums over the years. After two podiums in 2017 so far, Sykes trails team-mate and championship leader Jonathan Rea by 38 points.
Sykes reckons he has to change his riding style more so than the set-up of his Kawasaki, but overall has not been too disappointed regarding the start of his 2017 campaign.
“It has not been too shabby, but there are little areas we will certainly look to improve on this at this forthcoming race weekend.
“Off the top of my head I would say we are looking at adjusting my riding style 60-70 percent, and adjusting the bike settings 40-30 percent. It is just taking some time.”
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