Tom Sykes ‘talking and conscious’, suspected concussion in WorldSBK crash
Tom Sykes suffered a suspected concussion but otherwise escaped serious injury after WorldSBK crash that reportedly knocked him briefly unconscious
Early diagnosis from doctors suggest Tom Sykes has escaped serious injury following a worrying accident during the early stages of the final WorldSBK race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The 2013 WorldSBK Champion was taken directly to hospital from the Spanish venue with a suspected head injury. With unconfirmed reports suggesting Sykes was knocked unconscious in the impact, BMW confirmed he was conscious and talking en route to the hospital.
The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK rider crashed at Turn 1 on lap two of the final encounter, though the specific details of the accident are not clear after it was missed by the live television transmission.
However, it is understood he fell coming around the first right-hander and was struck around the head area by the Kawasaki of Lucas Mahias, who also came down and immediately rushed to Sykes to check on his condition.
BMW has since issued a press release with an encouraging note that Sykes has suffered a concussion, but will be assessed further as a precaution for any other symptoms.
It marked a sour end to a weekend that began promisingly for Sykes after recording his 51st career WorldSBK pole position on Saturday morning, though damp weather conditions consigned him to eighth at the finish.
His Superpole Race hopes were then scuppered by his team-mate Michael van der Mark, who lost the front of the sister BMW M 1000 RR at Turn 7 on lap one, forcing Sykes off and into retirement. This put him down in tenth on the grid for Race 2 ahead of his accident.
One of the WorldSBK Championship’s longest-serving and most successful racers, Sykes is without a ride for the 2022 season after losing his seat to Scott Redding. He is believed to be considering a satellite BMW role with Bonovo MGM alongside Jonas Folger amid talk his chances of landing one a HRC Honda role could be scuppered by its rumoured interest in Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge.
Sykes is also known to have received offers to return to the British Superbike Championship, 14 years after last competing in the series prior to his successful move to the world stage.
The Briton will almost certainly be ruled out of next weekend's Jerez WorldSBK event with Eugene Laverty tipped to fill his seat.
