Tom Sykes is still confident the all-new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R will come good despite another disappointing weekend for the Briton at Monza.
Sykes failed to break into the top ten in either race as the 2011 machine struggled to match the straight line speed of its rivals at Monza.
The Yorkshireman accepted that the Japanese outfit were not where they wanted to be after four weekends of the season, but remains optimistic that they can unlock the potential of the ZX-10R.
“We didn't have the speed or the race package to work with this weekend, obviously there is some work to be done. We all need to pick our heads up and stay focused and positive. I think people may expect a lot of us very early in the season with a new bike and I think that is putting a bit of pressure on.”
“I will keep my head down and keep working and I am still confident we can make it work. I got caught up in the crash at the first chicane and lost time on the exit, which made things harder. I think I had a bit of a better pace early on if I had got latched onto a leading group.”
Sykes is one point ahead of teammate Joan Lascorz who had a mixed weekend. The Spaniard crashed out in race one but showed great maturity to put that behind him and finish ninth in race two, beating championship leader Carlos Checa in the process.
The Spaniard that the team had been more aggressive with their tyre choice in an attempt to close the gap to the frontrunners, and hopes they will be stronger at the next round in the United States.
“All weekend we had been working with the soft race tyre then this morning when we tested the harder tyre, which we had to use, the bike needed a lot of adjustment. We are still developing and understanding the bike because it is still quite new. We made some changes after warm-up and found some better rear grip, but lost it in the front and I crashed. In race two I did my best and I was reasonably satisfied with a top ten finish and we will be better in the next one. I would like to be fighting more in the front group.”
The team's third rider, Chris Vermeulen is still yet to finish a race in 2011 after practice accident left him with a gashed elbow. The Australian will be glad of the three week break between now and the next round at the Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City.
