Tom Sykes is one of the few World Champions Britain has boasted in recent years but has eschewed life on the global stage to re-join Paul Bird in the Bennetts British Superbike series.

WSBK champion in 2013 together with 34 career wins and 51 pole positions, Sykes is coming home with an eye on winning the BSB title for the first time.

His decision follows a somewhat acrimonious departure from the BMW team but the opportunity to ride a brand, Ducati, which has always been the Huddersfield rider’s ambition. And that of his grandfather Peter Brook who financed his early years.

Sykes sat down with bikesportnews.com at the Snetterton test to give us the full skinny…

BSN: Tom, here you are at Snetterton which you must admit is a far cry from Portimao or Qatar or Phillip Island. But you must have had some alternatives. Those offers from World Superbikes or America clearly weren’t what you wanted. And what you liked about BSB was that Paul Bird, who you’d been with before, came along and offered you something pretty good.

TS: To cut a very long story short and, rightly or wrongly, in my opinion and a lot of others, I got information that I didn’t have the option of staying in World Superbikes in the team that I was with. So, rather like footballer, I was being put in the transfer window. I missed that and later discovered that if I’d been given the respect of knowing much earlier there were two factory teams who would have enjoyed my services .

But having said that, and accepting that things happen in life, I remembered what a very, very wise man once said to me, ‘It’s not how you get in the shit it’s how you get out of it that counts.’

So I am very fortunate to have had the interest from Paul Bird Motorsport and Ducati and as the time went on things began to fall into place. And I am also very, very grateful that it went to the extent of being out in Misano testing with Ducati which, even with my experience, was a dream come true.

BSN: So you could have stayed in World Superbikes but things got a bit late and you weren’t offered top- class machinery.

TS: To be honest I am very fortunate in being able to talk with some unbelievable people in World Superbikes and I have achieved some of my goals - the World Championship trophy sits at home.

I shared that moment with myself and my grandad and I’ll take that for the rest of my days. So I made the decision that I would certainly rather go for the championship in the British Superbike Series than to put myself in an situation where I had been in recent years. I don’t want to go into a world championship just to make up the numbers. Testing in Misano confirmed for me that I had made the right decision.

BSN: To put it bluntly, you hadn’t a cat in hell’s chance of winning the World Championship on the machinery you had been offered and BMW were not your favourite outfit

TS: Exactly, it’s all about creating the opportunity like I said and I think I had a great relationship with BMW, not only with headquarters but also in other countries
where I’ve done some events and things went down well. And also, of course, in the UK.

But it’s no secret there are two individuals who will not be on my Christmas card list. I am not naming them because respect goes a long way in this life. A have no problem with BMW and with budgets and resources they have everything in place to win races in the World Championship.”

BSN: And how do you think Scott Redding will get on in this year’s Championship?
Will he have the bike to do it?

TS: Well that’s a personal question. The ingredients are there if it all gets put together but after riding the works Ducati in Misano I think, however good he is, it’ll be a tall order.

BSN: How did you enjoy your experience at Misano with the works Ducati team and the difference between the WSBK and BSB bikes?

TS: It was a great experience but not too difficult for me as I was used to WSBK settings. In fact, I barely worked up a sweat to get the performance I did. And I didn’t have to take it to its full potential. There is a lot of difference between what I was riding there and what is allowed here. But I am sure we can get more and am looking forward to it.

BSN: You’ve come to BSB in 2022, you’ve been with Paul Bird before and therefore you know him quite well. So what did you think of Snetterton today, this course on which you’ve never ridden in its current incarnation, and yet did pretty well, especially as you were having your first test on the BSB Ducati.

TS: It was very close, just a fraction from the second place time and close to Josh. But we all know Josh is a very talented guy, two-times British Champion. But people are very quick to jump to conclusions and the fact is that while I’m not doubting my capabilities - I have won World Championship - I still believe I can win races.

But I am under no illusions, I’ve got a lot to learn. I’m used to world championship circuits where there are a lot of flowing corners and you get big lean angles and you can make the most of the chassis and tyres. And, of course, electronics.

People will make the argument that here is all about talent because you have more normal bikes. I disagree but you can’t argue with the talent here, there are some really good guys. I have to say I am a little bit on the back foot regarding issues on the some of the circuits, the bumps, the undulations etc. But that’s what testing is for.

BSN: Isn’t this a problem with all WSBK riders who come here, think they‘re going to do well and discover that British circuits are completely different and, to them, a bit scary. You and Leon are coming back, having not been here for a time, so it won’t be easy…

TS: Leon has been here a bit more recently than me. It’s not going to be easy but at the end of the day you’ve just get round that way of riding and quite a few have. The riders here are not shy, they just want to get out there and have a go.

We’ve got a few boys in World Superbikes who like to make a bit of contact. In fact it’s becoming quite a contact sport which I don’t entirely agree with because it can go badly wrong. Back in 2007/8 we had close racing in Superbikes - me and Leon had one or two encounters - but not very often. Anyway, I’m very glad for this opportunity in front of home crowds and am looking forward to it.