‏World Superbike Championship - Round 11 - Imola, Italy - Sunday 25th September 2011 Round 11 of the World Superbike Championship saw Tom Sykes take his Paul Bird Motorsport-prepared Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R to within a whisker of a podium finish at Imola as the Penrith-based team continued their good form following on from their victory in the previous round.

Yorkshireman Sykes was on great form from the outset of race weekend and led race one for four laps after making the most of his front row grid spot. In hot conditions, Tom worked hard to get a dry weather podium and he was in third place right until the final lap when championship leader Carlos Checa got past and held off Tom in the final corners by only a few tenths of a second.

Spanish team mate Joan Lascorz had been forced to start from 18th on the grid after missing out on a Superpole place but recovered as well and battled hard to finish the race in tenth place.

In race two Sykes was on course for another podium but a technical problem saw him lose places to other riders and he eventually retired as Lascorz battled to a fine eighth place finish.

In the points table Tom holds 12th with Joan only one place and two points adrift in 13th going into the penultimate race of the season at Magny-Cours in France this coming weekend.

Tom Sykes: "We got a fourth position in the dry weather, just missing the podium, and I feel we would have been able to take a podium in race two as well. I had a little bit of a negative feeling with the brake and it was a massive call to pull out but apart from that we have found some speed in the dry and I've been riding well. We are still working very well as a team and been consistently in the top five all weekend, which is very positive. We are building on our positives and looking forward to France."

Joan Lascorz: "I had several big fights with other riders but for me it was very difficult to pass them because I did not feel good on the brakes at this particular circuit. We had some of the same problems as we had in practice but we improved them a little bit in race two. In race one I did not get a good start and it was difficult. In the first lap in the second chicane of race two I went straight but I lost time. My pace was good in the second race, so that is a positive to take away."

Paul Bird, Team Owner: "Tom was unfortunate to miss out on the podium in race one but to be up there battling at the front again in the dry is where we need to be. It's amazing what a victory does to the team and the confidence has returned so we plan on taking this momentum into the final two rounds of the season."

Results - Race One1, J Rea (Castrol Honda)2, N Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia)3, C Checa (Althea Racing)4, T Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)5, E Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team)6, S Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing)7, J Smrz (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing)8, M Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team)9, A Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team)10, J Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team)Results - Race Two1, C Checa (Althea Racing)2, N Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia)3, L Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team)4, E Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team)5, L Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)6, M Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team)7, S Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing)8, J Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team)9, M Aitchison (Team Pedercini)10, A Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team)DNF T Sykes (Kawasaki Racing TeamChampionship Standings (after round 11)

1, C Checa 417pts2, M Melandri 320?3, M Biaggi 281?4, E Laverty 256?5, L Haslam 187?6, L Camier 17112, T Sykes 127?13, J Lascorz 125??