Motor Racing: TUNSTALL TONIC; In association with STIHL Privateer earns third-place double in Cup championship

Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, England), May 28, 2008

Byline: By LINZI NICHOLSON Sports Reporter

HUDDERSFIELD riders Tom Sykes and Tom Tunstall found good form to land podium places in the British Super bike Bank Holiday meeting at Donington.

Denby Dale-based privateer Tunstall guided his Hardinge Ice Valley Honda to two third places in the Superbike Cup which saw him surge to third place in the Cup Championship after eight rounds, behind runaway leader John Laverty (Ducati) and Martin Jessopp (Honda).

Sykes 22, pulled off a spectacular third place in the main Superbike race to earn his second podium after starting 13th.

The Farnley Tyas rider got off the line well and immediately slotted into sixth place in the blustery conditions at the 2.5-mile GP circuit.

He rode hard putting in consistently fast lap times and picked off other riders to get on the third step, behind winner Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam.

In race two he finished in a close sixth place after being held up by slower riders early on.

It was another determined effort by last season's Superbike rookie of the year, especially after he had taken a small tumble during qualifying in the wet.

The Rizla Suzuki technicians worked on the chassis to accommodate the tricky conditions but Sykes was struggling for rear grip.

Towards the end of the session he went off at Coppice corner, walked away unhurt, but there was not enough time left in the session for him to return to the track and improve on 13th.

Sykes said: "I've got mixed feelings about it all.

"Obviously I'm delighted with my podium finish as that is where my Rizla Suzuki team and I should be finishing.

"Starting from the fourth row of the grid isn't ideal as I usually aim to be on the front row, but in the first race I got away well and battled in the lead group.

"As for race two, I got a bit beaten up into the first turn and then got caught behind a slower rider who was holding me up. The high winds weren't helping matters either."

He added: "The podium was encouraging but I still want to do better for myself and my Rizla Suzuki team."

The next meeting is at Snetterton, Norfolk, on June 15

BENNETTS BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

Race I: 1 Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) 32:01.058, 2 Leon Haslam(HMPlant Honda) 2.473, 3 Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 3.442, 4 James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) 5.856, 5 Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) 6.188, 6 Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) 6.636, 7 Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing) 7.464, 8 Michael Rutter (NW 200 Ducati) 9.809, 9 Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 12.627, 10 Simon Andrews (Jentin Racing/Lloyds British Yamaha) 16.244.

Race II: 1 Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati), 2 Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) 0.355s, 3 Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) 1.447s, 4 Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) 1.596s, 5 James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) 4.186s, 6 Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 7.446s, 7 Karl Harris (Team Rob Mac Racing Yamaha) 15.707s, 8 Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) 26.794s, 9 Simon Andrews (Lloyds British Jentin Racing) 31.816s, 10 Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda) 32.870s.

BSB Championship: 1 Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) Pts 190, 2 Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) 122, 3 Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) 107, 4 Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) 96, 5 James Ellison (Hydrex-Bike Animal Honda) 88, 6 Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) 82, 7 Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 75, 8 Stuart Easton (MSS-Discovery Kawasaki) 62, 9 Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 59, 10 Simon Andrews (Lloyds British Jentin Yamaha) 37.

Daily Star Cup standings: 1 John Laverty (Buildbase NW200 Ducati) 171, 2 Martin Jessopp (Riders Racing Honda) 87, 3 Tom Tunstall (Harding Ice Valley) 81, 4 Chris Burns (STP Superbike MV Agusta) 81, 5 Leon Morris (Team Trimite Brookspeed Ducati) 75, 6 Luke Quigley (PDM Racing Suzuki) 73, 7 Michael Howarth (Tena for Men Honda) 67, 8 Malcolm Ashley (ARP/MAR Kawasaki) 49, 9 James Buckingham (Honda) 42, 10 Steve Mercer (Yamaha) 41.

CAPTION(S):

MIXING IT WITH THE LEADERS: Tom Sykes, on board the Rizla Suzuki, holds off the challenge of Leon Haslam but ends up being pushed down to third place by the HM Plant Honda rider in Race I at the British Superbike meeting at Donington. Left: Sykes receives his trophy from Moto GP ace James Toseland. Pictures by Turn One Photography; SHAKE IT UP!: Tom Tunstall celebrates a champagne moment after earning two third places in the Superbike Cup at Donington.