Superbikes Netherlands 2012: Tom Sykes clinches the third Superpole of the year

Tom Sykes, is it the third time the charm?

Yes, not even Jonathan Rea, running at home, has been able to overshadow him. Tom Sykes has swept so brutally during the Superpole in Assen that one cannot do more than take off his hat and admit that he was simply unrivaled. The Briton, on a circuit where neither Kawasaki nor he had achieved major marks, has set a time of 1'35.399, that is, more than a second from Rea, who will be next to him on the grill tomorrow.

But also, as I said, one has to surrender at the feet of the Kawasaki rider because he has given us some crusades on the fast corners of Assen that we were starting to miss. The humidity of the asphalt contributed to the loss of grip so that each skid had an added danger. However, Sykes has controlled the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R at all times. The session, in general, has been bumpy and it has been quite strange not to see pilots of the stature of Max biaggi, leaving from grid position 17.

Behind Johnny Rea he finds Czech Jakub Smrz, always ready to surprise. In fact, if it hadn't been for Sylvain Guintoli swallowed the bike Ayrton Badovini after his fall we would have had another Ducati up there. Above, next to that of Carlos Checa, who this time was unable to go beyond fifth place leading the second row of the grid. Very good results for the recovered John hopkins closing the last cut and David salom, which made it into the top 10.