Sykes: Rea crashed because he's pushing to beat me

Tom Sykes believes Jonathan Rea is pushing hard to halt his Donington Park domination and it is part of the reason why he suffered an early FP1 fall while also running through the gravel in the second session.

Sykes was unable to stop his factory Kawasaki team-mate sweep both Friday practice sessions but is confident both riders are evenly matched on lap times and consistency to set-up an intriguing battle at their home round.

Sykes is hunting a new World Superbike record of nine consecutive wins at the same circuit - something never achieved before in the series - but sees Rea as out to end his record charge at a circuit he's won every race at since 2013.

Despite topping both sessions, Rea suffered a fall in FP1 which Sykes feels demonstrates how hard his team-mate is hunting for victories this weekend.

"We are settling in nicely and the bike is working well but I think it is no secret that my team-mate is out to try his best to put a stop to that," Sykes said. "I think that is why we saw him crash today and run on for the second one. He is definitely pushing on as he has had a lot of success and I think this is something he's very keen to achieve.

"Tomorrow we personally need to step our game up a little bit and go racing. It is difficult to say [if he is closer than last year] but looking at the times his consistency is somewhere there but I also feel my consistency is not too shabby. My focus is to make the best out of the new tyres and from there see what happens."

Rea called his FP1 fall 'amateur' having lost control on the grass after a tangle between his glove and brake lever at the heavy braking into the Melbourne Loop.