Motourage

The Paul Bird Kawasaki Racing Team heads to Portimao in Portugal for round two of the World Superbike Championship determined to post strong results after experiencing mixed fortunes in the opening round in Australia.

Tom Sykes hopes a new bike setup will help him at Portimao

Tom Sykes scored points last time out but Chris Vermeulen fell at high speed in race two, injuring his right knee, and now approaches this weekend with characteristic determination to be fit to race on Sunday.

Until misfortune struck, both Vermeulen and Sykes looked to be heading towards good results in each Australian race, a factor that gives the whole team confidence that Portimao will be a good weekend and more of a reward for everyone’s hard work in the winter.

Part of those winter preparations was an official test at Portimao in January, although poor weather was a frequent visitor at that time. Those January track sessions were particularly valuable for Chris, who had not ridden at Portimao prior to then.

Weather conditions are expected to be largely dry for all concerned on race weekend on the Algarve coast, which would allow Tom and Chris consistent track conditions to find an optimal raceday set-up.

Tom Sykes:
“I’m really looking forward to the race in Portugal. We’ve learned a lot with the bike since Phillip Island and to be honest I’m really happy with the team set-up and how we are working together. I’m feeling positive about the bike as we have a completely different machine set-up and made valuable progress since we last tested in Portimao in January, which adds to my confidence for a decent result here. I have high expectations for myself and the team and I hope we can deliver a good result.”

Chris Vermeulen:
“The doctors at the Clinica Mobile have already said it is OK for me to race. On Sunday it is going to be four weeks since the accident and really I need two months for everything to heal properly. I sat on the bike today for the first time and it is a little difficult to get my knee into position, but we can lower the footpeg and raise the seat, do whatever we can to help that. The Clinica Mobile will tape up my knee and give me some injections for the pain. I am going out for practice on Friday morning to see what I can do. I am sure it is going to be possible to ride.”