2013 WorldSBK title winner confident of second crown this season.

With just two weeks to go until the 2015 WorldSBK season kicks into life at Phillip Island, Tom Sykes is fully confident that he can win back the world crown he first achieved two years ago. Ahead of a campaign full of team and rider changes, the Englishman is sure that he can benefit from uniformity at Kawasaki Racing Team.

“I think part of the success is this consistency,” Sykes explained to WorldSBK.com during the Kawasaki team launch in Barcelona on Thursday. “It’s the same every year, the same people around me. I’m very fortunate to have a great manufacturer fighting my corner. Kawasaki is really working hard. I’ve got a great crew behind me. Honestly, everything is in place to try and fight for the World Championship again.

“My target is to win races and try and come out at the end of it on top. That is Plan A so, hopefully, we can make it happen.”

However, Sykes is fully awake of stiff competition throughout the field while he adapts his riding style to suit changes in the technical regulations.

“It just meant I had to ride a little bit differently in the winter testing,” he describes of modifications to rules relating to engines and electronics in particular. “We’re adapting the bike and adapting myself a little bit. It’s the same for everybody. Some manufacturers are maybe in a slightly stronger position but at the end of the day, if they are, we will aim for that and try and get there.”

In 2015, Sykes will ride alongside fellow Briton Jonathan Rea for the first time.