IS THIS season going to be the final one for Yukio Kagayama in the World Superbike Championship?
Paddock insiders are increasingly believing so, and the 17th and 13th place finishes at Donington on Sunday have hardly quelled the gossip mongers eager to tell people that Tom Sykes is going to make the move from Yamaha to Suzuki in 2010.
After the second race, Kagayama said: "This weekend was not an easy one because we had problems with rear grip. We tried many different things over the weekend - suspension, geometry, gear ratios - but we were not able to improve the bike. We also tried a different swingarm for race two, but no big change, although it feeling was a bit better.
"All in all it was a frustrating time for me and my team. I know that they worked as hard as they could and I know that I rode as hard as I could, but we did not get any good results. I am a very experienced rider and my team is very knowledgeable, but we still could not find any solutions. I am sorry for Francis (Batta) and the whole team because our results today were no better than a privateer."
Batta, team boss of Alstare Suzuki, is getting increasingly hungry for better results.
