SYKES TOPS WORLD SUPERBIKE PRE-SEASON TESTING

Sykes was the man of the moment, holding onto the top slot in today's warmer afternoon session that saw only two riders improve. Sykes's time of 1 minute 31.648 seconds remains the benchmark as the riders now gear up for the opening round of the 2012 FIM Superbike World Championship this coming weekend.

Second place overall went to 2011 champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati), who ended up just a whisker behind. The Spaniard set the quickest time of the warmer afternoon session and then packed up for the rest of the day. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) was third on another Ducati 1098R, not far off the pace of the top two, while Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike) was the only other rider to get into the 1 minute 32 second bracket, despite crashing at Lukey Heights this morning (with no harm to rider).

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) showed remarkable consistency as he took the fifth slot, while Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad) failed to improve on day 2 and his time set yesterday was good enough for sixth. Superbike rookie Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) crashed harmlessly for the fourth time in this test but was impressive enough for seventh, while Leon Camier (Crescent Suzuki) completed the top 8.

The three Australians in the field struggled to sort their bikes with 2010 Australian superbike champion Bryan Staring 20th on the time sheet on the Pedercini Kawasaki; Sydney's Josh Brookes 21st aboard on the Crescent Suzuki; and Gosford's Mark Aitchison sitting at 22nd on the 23 strong time sheet on the Grillini BMW. All Australian riders are new to their bikes and teams, with Aitchison campaigning the BMW for the year, but Staring and Brookes deputising for injured riders at the Australian round only.

Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad), who crashed yesterday, has returned to hospital: the doctors are deciding if and how to operate on his right leg tibia fracture.

Despite less than stellar results for the Aussies, all riders in World Superbike and World Supersport categories enjoyed two days of perfect test conditions at the Phillip Island circuit, with pace setter Sykes making the most of the sunny conditions and clocking the most laps - over 156 laps across the two days.

World Superbike Best Times (Monday, February 20, 2012 - Tuesday, February 21, 2012)

1 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'31.648

2 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'31.652

3 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'31.800

4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'31.913

5 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'32.034

6 33 Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.232

7 34 Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.319

8 2 Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'32.320

9 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.347

10 91 Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.397

11 17 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'32.540

12 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.605

13 59 Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.746

14 4 Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.910

15 121 Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.911

16 86 Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.948

17 87 Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'33.136

18 19 Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'33.358

19 44 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.385

20 67 Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.418

21 25 Brookes J. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'33.623

22 18 Aitchison M. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'34.169

23 35 De Rosa R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.341

Superbike records at Phillip Island
Fastest Lap: Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 1'31"826 (2007)
Superpole: Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1'30"882 (2011)
Best Lap: Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1'30"826 (2011)

The opening round of the 2012 Superbike World Championship commences Friday with the riders competing in 2 x 22 lap races on Sunday.