Tom Sykes and the Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT) have announced a mutual parting of ways come the end of the 2018 season, ending a nine year partnership, which has seen great success including his 2013 Championship win, and taking second place in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes

Credited with changing the way Kawasaki approached the rigours of superbike racing while playing a large role in the development of the Ninja ZX-10R racing package, Tom will seek a new challenge for 2019 having delivered maximum effort across a total of nine years of racing and development on Kawasaki machinery in WorldSBK.

With the remainder of the 2018 season yet to be completed the most successful Superpole winner in WorldSBK history still has a chance to increase his amazing tally of qualifying and race successes on KRT machinery. Fully motivated and with the full support of the Kawasaki Racing Team and his pit crew, Tom remains a racing force to be admired by fans and feared by rivals in equal measure.

Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes explaining, “I feel the time has arrived; the moment to make a change in my career and seek new challenges. Having the motivation to push to your limits and that of your machine is all the more important when you look for the victory at every race and I feel I have given all I can within KRT. I am now the best rider I have ever been, and I have the experience and performance to keep winning. So now I have decided to make a step away from the KRT project for 2019 and look for new goals and challenges. I will now concentrate to finish on the podium for the last four rounds of 2018. I am determined to enjoy my racing and making this announcement effectively ends all speculation. The timing of this big career decision is never easy but it is especially difficult as my personal life also faces big changes. Regarding this I feel the weight of pressure has been slightly lifted from my shoulders and I am sure 2019 will allow me to operate at full capacity”.

Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes

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