Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes was reigned in at the Portimao WorldSBK test by the continued effects of a sickness bug he picked up in Aragon.

Sykes has not quite regained his normally peak of physical fitness and had to reduce his expected lap count at this test. He did get the chance to use the new qualifying rear tyre late in the second afternoon and he set a best of 1’42.3, even after a small front end slide held back his best possible pace.

“Trying to ride a Superbike really fast in my current condition was not ideal as I am still feeling the lingering effects of a stomach complaint I had at the Motorland Aragon round. I am recovering now and this is where I start building back up for the next round at Assen. This test was very useful as we confirmed a few things but my pure performance is not quite there yet,” said Sykes.

“On the first day we stopped for lunch a bit early, as I was not in good physical form, so we narrowed down our test items and got started again in the afternoon, in a good direction. Overall we achieved some strong key points and the ingredients are definitely there for the next race. I am happy about that and I am looking forward to it now.

“On race tyres we were definitely in the ballpark and that was nice to see, as I am certainly not myself yet on the bike. Thanks to the guys as they were always working hard and we have to be happy with this test, all things considered.”