About Tom

Affectionately known as 'Grinner' by his fans, Tom Sykes has the reputation of being one of the most cheerful personalities in motorcycle racing. The youngster has quickly risen through the British Supersport series and British Superbike Championship to now compete the infamous World Superbike Championship for the Paul Bird Motorsport Kawasaki Superbike team in 2010.

Tom has continued to gain experience aboard a super bike, making an impressive debut last year for the Yamaha Italia Team in World Superbikes. The Yorkshire man completed 22 out of the 28 races in 2009, with notable achievements including a 4th at Assen, and 20 top ten finishes in his rookie year.

 Unfortunately Tom damaged his shoulder at the penultimate round last year which putt a premature end to an impressive season. Tom subsequently missed the last three races of the year and slipped down the championship order to a still very respectable 9th position overall. On the whole Tom did a great job exhibiting his talents on the world stage in 2009. He again demonstrated his unique ability to learn tracks quickly and epitomised consistency all through the season.

For 2010 the 24 year-old will be riding the factory-backed Kawasaki alongside ex-MotoGP rider Chris Vermulen. The all new rider line up in the Paul Bird Motorsport team will be part of the most competitive and eagerly anticipated World Superbike grid in recent years. Tom will be looking to build from his impressive rookie season last year and push for the front in 2010.