CLICK HERE to read the full interview with Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes says he still hasn't got his head around the rule changes to the race two grid formation and won't waste time doing so during his preparations for the 2017 World Superbike championship.

The 2013 World Superbike champion has had his head down during intense pre-season preparations as he aims to find a suitable riding style and feeling with the Kawasaki ZX-10R in the 2017 regulations to take his charge to team-mate and back-to-back title winner Jonathan Rea.

New for 2017 the World Superbike paddock will be getting to grips with the race two grid formation rules focused on shaking up the action on Sunday's race.

Sykes initially voiced his opposition to the changes on social media at the announcement that the podium trio from race 1 would be rotated in a reversed order on to row three (1st=9th, 2nd=8th and 3rd=7th) with race 1 finishers 4th-9th promoted to the front two rows for race 2.

The Yorkshire rider wryly suggested he still needs the new rules explaining but is prepared to go along with the changes despite being one of the riders most likely to be hit the hardest by the rule.

"I was hoping you'd be able to explain them to me!" Sykes told Crash.net. "I'm not a big fan and I still haven't got my head around them but what can I say, it's a rule, it's been put in place, it's the same for everybody and we've got to deal with it.

"I still haven't figured out what it's about and I don't think I'll waste my energies on trying to do so either.

"I wasn't a fan of what they were doing in BSB but at least in BSB you're getting rewarded for your efforts. In WorldSBK you're getting penalised to try to make the race better without considering the safety aspect.

Sykes doesn't feel any rider will sacrifice a podium in the opening race in order to land pole position for race two and wants to give his response on the track with results rather than arguing off of it.

"It seems like the rules change quite frequently now, formats are changing," he said. "You try to voice your opinion in this paddock and you get shot down. I like to think that I've got a bit of experience but for that reason I just shut my mouth.

"I think there's a lot of fear of rocking the boat in this paddock and that's not my game so I'll stay diplomatically silent on the issue."

CLICK HERE to read the full interview with Tom Sykes