Tom Sykes says he is putting the 2017 season ‘in a box’ after a crash in the early stages of race two cost him the chance to fight for runner-up spot in the championship.
The Kawasaki rider endured a tough Qatar weekend from the outset, with an engine failure in second practice robbing him of race set-up time, while a suspected faulty rear Pirelli tyre saw him struggle to sixth in race one.
10 points down on Ducati’s Chaz Davies in their battle for second, Sykes was in the podium places when he touched a white line rounding Turn 14 and slid into retirement.
Sykes – who broke his finger and wrist in a crash in Portugal in September – praised his riding gear for making sure he remained unscathed in the crash, and concedes taking second from Davies would have been difficult given the Welshman’s pace in second in the race.
“I’m absolutely OK. My gear did its job, Dainese and Shark did their job and I have walked away from that one,” said Sykes.
“There is nothing much to say really. I am just disappointed.
“We made some small steps with the bike, it felt better than it has done all weekend and I am confident that the bike, even if it wasn’t quick on initial lap time, if there’s one thing for certain it would have stayed flat for the race.
“So I was excited after the first couple of laps, but unfortunately it’s a small error.
“I ran maybe 2cm tighter, just touched a white line on a fast turn. There was obviously a little bit of sand on there and I lost traction at full lean angle.
“It is a small mistake with a big consequence and it is not the way I wanted to end the season.
“Fighting for second in the championship might have been a tall order looking at where Chaz finished, but 2017 is finished so we are happy to put it in a box and start again for next season.”
Davies carved through into the lead by Turn 2 after making, what he described as, the ‘best start’ of his career, though almost joined Sykes on the sidelines when he highsided exiting Turn 5 on lap four.
The Ducati rider managed to stay mounted, and settled into second when he was informed Sykes had crashed out.
“We sealed second position in the championship, which was our goal going into this round, so I’m very happy,” said Davies.
“It’s been another tough race. I probably made the best start of my career, then got my head down while keeping an eye on Sykes’ position.
“I nearly crashed at Turn 5, it felt like a rodeo but I hung onto it. Once I saw Sykes was out, I just tried to control the gap as second place was the best we could do today.”
