Michael Sykes

"That's it, thats where I finish for good... it has been a real fight to get here... it's on yet another high, but i...you know the story, I guess I'll have to tell you about this later...the milk? thats not for me, thats for Ashley"

- Michael Sykes speaking to Gretchen Small, Pit reporter for Channel 44, Indianapolis 2017

Michael Sykes (born March 9, 1972 in Port Tennant, Wales) is a retired Welsh race car driver who competed for ALERT in the TM Master Cup Series. He is the 2013 TM Master Cup Series champion.

Sykes broke into the series in 2010 driving for his own team, and won the 2010 Independent's Trophy in the process.

After an aborted 1st full season as an STS driver in 2011 his deal with FLASH racing for 2012 was pivotal in making him a front runner in most TMMC races in the 2 seasons that followed, his title success in 2013 came after he announced his retirement from racing for the 2nd time, he became Launch Energy's Director of Motorsport, and a key figure in getting young American drivers into the TMMC racing pyramid in the formative years of the "Launch Ladder", which featured heavily in the "Hotshots" documentary series on Double-Four, the streaming service provided by channel 44.

Drama and tragedy have always ghosted Michael Sykes throughout his career, initially with his touring car accident in the early 90s, a victim of circumstance in Germany when his proposed moved to the German Supercar Series fell through, right the way up to the tragic loss of his son Ashley Sykes, who was making his V8 Champcar debut in 2017.

His whereabouts have been made unknown since his retirement from the public eye after the circumstances in 2017.

Early career
Sykes made his full racing debut in 1988, after competing in go-karts for five seasons. He took second place in the Formula Inglesby Festival, which attracted the attention of several well-known drivers and teams, most notably Lance Andrews. Andrews recruited Sykes in 1989 to be a test driver for his team in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), but after several encouraging test runs in Inglesby's youth development program, Sykes was given the opportunity to drive at the one-hour Special Grand Prix at Donington Park.

1990-95: British Touring Cars
Sykes gained a full-time ride in the BTCC in 1990 alongside Andrews, before he departed for the TM Master Cup Series. Andrews' faith in the Welshman would be rewarded the following season, as Sykes won three races and finished second in the final points standings.

1992 would be a banner year for Sykes, as he racked up nine victories en route to the BTCC championship, which made him the youngest ever BTCC Champion, a record which remains unbroken. He was subsequently offered a test drive invitation in Formula A, an offer which Sykes turned down.

Hopes of a Sykes repeat the following year were dashed in testing, as a severe crash, which included a multiple barrel-roll, hospitalized him for the majority of the season. He did return to racing near the end of the 1993 season, to the applause of the paddock.

He returned to form in 1994, for his final year with Inglesby who were to be withdrawing their factory support at the end of that season, a season-long battle with defending champion Finlay McKenzie helped promote the series like no other rivalry. Sykes had the last laugh over his borderline-friendly rival, claiming the championship on the last corner of the last lap at Donington.

1995: The Desswindel Issue
Sykes left the BTCC in 1995 to sign with Desswindel in the German Supercar series. It was a deal that was struck not long before his final year with Inglesby. However, the team and manufacturer went into liquidation before the season even started. It was the first sign of the German Supercar championship in its original form beginning to deteriorate. Sykes would be stuck in Germany without a drive, without a job, his racing career was almost over. It took him three months to get back to Britain, by this time he had become flatmates with another victim of the Desswindel collaps, Penny Xarier, a fitness expert who was originally helping Sykes while he was still employed at Inglesby and recovering from the touring car crash, it was later revealed that Desswindel were testing hand operated controls for Sykes while he was recovering, Penny would monitor his condition. Towards the end of the year he was back behind the wheel of an Inglesby in the BTCC, with a privately run team, his performances with a struggling team were outstanding, a 3rd place in the final race of the season was the first time an Independant team's car was able to get onto the podium. A horrible year over, Sykes went back to Germany with a new team, and with many points to prove, not just to himself, or motorsport, but to Penny who he was missing whilst back in the UK.

1996-98: Sykes with Koswieger
Sykes finally made his German Supercar debut in 1996 with the Kosweiger team. The team based in Kaiserslauten had bought some of the assets lost by Desswindel and felt obliged to employ Sykes for the remainder of the original contract, he proposed to Penny who was now pregnant. He earned three victories toward the end of the season. The team moved to the International Sportscar Trophy series in 1997, and, alongside former Formula A champion Jean-Luc DeLuc, finished third in the final standings,.

Kosweiger moved to Formula A in 1998, and the team retained Sykes as its test driver.

Sykes took the 1999 season off, while he paid more attention to his wife and son, Ashley, but is still recognized as an "employee" of Koswieger and given the role of "British Ambassador".

2000-01: Back to the BTCC
Sykes returned to the BTCC in 2000 with a crew formed from members of his original Formula Inglesby team, running a car provided by Koswieger, winning the Indy Cup with outstanding front-running pace, almost capturing the overall title. He would repeat as Indy Cup winner in 2001 with the same car, but by 2002, a new discipline would grab Sykes' attention.

2002-04: British Thundercars
In 2002, Sykes switched from touring cars to stock cars, forming a team in the then-titled British Stock Car Cup. The team, ADX Racing, was a three-car effort consisting of Sykes, Kenny Hodges (cousin of former TM Master Cup regular Alan), and former BTCC rival McKenzie.

Hodges would win the 2003 championship, with Sykes placing fourth.

However, family matters forced Sykes to sell the team in 2004, he recognised that he was not spending enough time with his son, and he spent the next five years out of racing.

TM Master Cup career (Sykes' second return to racing)
Sykes made his return to a racing paddock in 2009 as a VIP in the TM Master Cup. It was there that he considered a return to racing.

2010
Sykes made his return to racing in 2010, re-forming ADX Racing as an Independent's Trophy entry at Brands Hatch. Sykes performed well enough to earn the inaugural Trophy, which earned him a fill-in role at the Round of Decatur, substituting for Matt Taylor. Sykes also took part in the 12 Hours of Road Atlanta in a Koswieger GTK-10, standing in for Karl Yvrandes, Koswieger Totelwerks' team leader, as part of the International Sportscar Endurance Trophy. The Sykes family moved to Indianapolis, and Penny devoted her time to getting Michael back fit for motorsport, Ashley had become interested in his Father's work.

2011
In 2011, Sykes signed with Bill Barclay Racing to drive the team's No. 45 STS, with backing from S.A. Brains Brewery. He performed well in the first half of the season, even claiming his first career victory at Ohio. Sykes left Barclay after the Round of British Columbia, citing the other competitors' "inability" to drive causing most of his accidents (even saying on his Twitter feed the other drivers were "all driving like complete cabbages").

Sykes returned for the Round of Decatur driving the third FLASH Racing Inglesby, but had mechanical issues at the start of the race and never really contended.

2012
FLASH Racing retained the services of Sykes for the following season, he and Leonid Roderick would suffer reliability issues with the Inglesby Sonicboom in the first half of the season, leading most of the TM paddock to suggest that Sykes may be the unluckiest driver for the season, however, it was fortunate for Sykes that he was able to win the Round of Russia at Vnukovo, Yulia Nosova lost the lead of the race on the very last lap.

His performances after the race in Russia and also at the next round, his home venue, Round of Wales pushed him into the top 10 in the standings. He was expected to win the Round of Wisconsin, having lead for the majority of the race, only to gamble on tyres and lose the lead on the last lap, Sykes accused Frank Lawrence and Adam Sampson of fixing the race, a tense moment which Sykes eventually came to terms with years later. 2 years of life in America, Penny had become popular on Social media for her fitness hints and tips, Ashley had become a Kart champion, and made the decision to go into Drift Car events, with Michael's Support.

2013
FLASH Racing retained Michael for another year, thanks to his new links with Launch Energy, who also gave their name to Launch Energy Motorpark, the drinks company will own a majority stake in the race team. Thank's to the new branding, Sykes will be running the #5. He won two races, Road Atlanta and The HLR Circuit. Partway though the season, he announced that he would retire after 2013. Despite that, he would end up winning the championship, retiring from the series as champion.

2014-2017: Launch Director of Motorsport
A tenuous position for anyone to hold, let alone a former racing driver, and a role that also included decision making on future drivers, with the 1st "Launch Ladder", a scholarship that Sykes devised with the help of a new facility built in Wheaton, Illinois, a similar driver development scheme that the British Inglesby set up in the 1980s, Sykes saw this as a "missing piece" of any racing driver's credentials, Launch wanted to use this for the next Formula A driver, however Michael was vociferous in getting drivers centred around TMMC instead, the only sticking point of Sykes' reign as Launch Director of Motorsport, every successful driver in the scheme was placed into the junior categories below the TM Master Cup with the aim of getting to the TMMC and thriving, however none of the drivers would "make it" as a TM Master Cup regular, a more positive side effect of this was that more American drivers were placed into better race seats than they were prior to the Ladder. It also made more of these drivers popular through the Documentary series that Launch funded in conjunction with Channel 44.

2017: The Ashley Sykes Tragedy
While Michael focused on the future of American racing, Ashley Sykes, Michael's son was getting more and more famous for his skills as a Drift Champion, Michael would support his son's efforts, but not with any input by manipulating the Launch arm, Ashley understood this, a lot of fans did not, social media ended up flaming Michael Sykes, accusing him of not being a good father to his son, something that Ashley had to publicly defend.

For 2016 and his 2nd straight Drift Champion title in the bag, Ashley was in talks with Gorras International, who were a mid-to-front running V8 Champcar team, to take part in the 2017 season, Ashley agreed the deal and was showing promising speeds on the Ovals that the series would visit, Launch themselves decided to sponsor the car for the season, Michael announced that he did not have a say in the decision to back the team, preferring to remain neutral financially, however was tremendously supportive of Ashley's decision.

March 18th, 2017, 9pm, Lap 35 of the Texas 500, Ashley Sykes is seen to lose control of the car at turn 3, the car hit the outside wall at 200MPH, it came to a stop on the inside of turn 4, Ashley Sykes, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene. Post-Race investigation took 2 months, a potential hairline fracture in the differential caused the car to spin, it was a brand new differential that "might" have obtained the damage during an early safety car pit stop.

2017: V8 Champcar (Michael Sykes' 3rd Comeback)
Michael Sykes decided to pick up where Ashley should not have left off, he announced his resignation from the role of Director of Motorsport at Launch, paving the way for Launch to focus on Formula A, and eventually pull all their branding from the majority of TMMC venues and cars, he also announced would drive the same Gorras-Inglesby that his son would have competed in for "the rest of the season", 3 rounds into the V8 Champcar series, the first of these races were at Nazareth, Phoenix and Indy. Critics still to this day questioned Sykes decision to return, there was also a major backlash from the general public that V8 Champcars were getting too dangerous, another point for Michael to prove.

A stable and steady approach to the race at Nazareth saw Michael start off questionably slow in practice, a sensible qualifying lap, placing him 19th on the grid for the start, and all his knowledge of TMMC ovals meant he was able to pick his moments, time his pitstops with great ease, and a remarkable 5th place finish with applause from the entire V8 Champcar fraternity, critics early on thought Sykes would be "too old" for this level of racing, he had proven them wrong. Phoenix however was the opposite, issues with the Gorras prepared car meant he place outside the classified results, but did enough track time to give himself, and the team, a benchmark for Indy.

A stable start to the Month of May for Michael Sykes, knowing when to set a lap meant he got onto the pole day grid slots, 10th, and safe from being bumped from his first and only Indy 500 start. However, an accident in practice on the 3rd week initially saw a media kneejerk reaction, it was similar to the accident his son was a victim of, he would calmly analyse the crash, recognised that the circumstances were different, there was an unseen fluid in the middle of the backstretch, that stuck to the tire before it spun in turn 3, Sykes was comfortable with the car after the rebuild.

With the race underway, Sykes made it to 7th on the 1st lap, however a turn 1 crash at the back of the field meant small bits of debris ended up in Michael Sykes' tire, it would prove to be a well played risk to pit for new tires, 27th by lap 7 when the green would fly again, and a very reliable field, comprising mostly of of stock-block Inglesby powered cars, meant Sykes would have to play the pit stops, but also beat the fastest of the V8 Champcar fraternity, including an Alexis Rainsford who was making another one-off return for the Indy500, Sykes was in no way the favourite, nobody expected it, but by lap 197 he had clawed his way to 2nd and with Judd Connors, the favourite that year, battling side by side, on the exit of turn 4 and with the white flag about to be waved, Connors touched the inside grass, the car spun, Sykes was now in the lead.

The crowd understood how much this win meant, and once again the V8 Champcar garages applauded him in a deserved victory, and someone who was mourning the loss of his son only 2 months earlier, was in a similar visible condition even before he took his crash helmet off, tears pouring from his eyes, he refused to drink the bottle of milk, saying that it was for his son, it was fairly evident that Michael wanted to win this race for his son. Announcing it on the podium that "this is it, this is where I retire for good", reporters thought this was only in reaction to the last 3 months, that Sykes would "change his mind, it HAS happened before".

Aftermath of Indy
It is well documented, prior to his TMMC retirement that, during Michael Sykes interviews, he would be very vociferous, but after this race it was as if everything had changed, it soon transpired that Michael Sykes had decided to immediately retire from Motorsport altogether (he had, once again, proven everyone wrong), the real reason is still unknown, some pundits believe that Michael felt guilty for not "fully" nurturing Ashley Sykes' potential as a racing driver, as if every decision Ashley made led to the accident that killed him, something that Michael Sykes has never answered as he has spent the last few years reclusively living a life outside of Motorsport, still happily married to the woman who he claims "rescued" him when he was trapped in Germany 22 years earlier.

Gorras-Inglesby eventually became fully invested by Launch Energy who would use the team as the final stepping stone to Formula A.

Personal
Michael Sykes is Married to Penny Sykes nee Xarier, whom he met with whilst at Desswindel. Penny is known for her own Double-Four show, which focuses on all-around health, since Michael's complete retirement in 2017 he has been spotted on the show in the background by some fans, but has never made a proper appearance, Penny also took a year off the show in 2019, with rumours that she is pregnant again.

Michael Sykes is 5ft 11inches and had been on a long recovery to full fitness since his return to racing in the TM Master Cup, this was evident in his first race at Brands Hatch, he had neglected to focus on his own race-level fitness in the 5 year gap, however by the time he won the 2013 TMMC he was at full fitness, and had maintained this physique even in 2017.

Michael's hobbies include Running and Golf, Michael was known to run from his appartment in Indianapolis, run a lap around the outside of the Speedway, and back again on a daily basis in his off-season. He also made famous the "Golf in our Overalls" leg of the "Launch Indy Triple Crown" which also included the infamous "Chili Cook-Off" as well as the "Round of Indy" TMMC race as the other two events of the lesser known background events that the TMMC fraternity took part in, Launch themselves put a purse of $2m for the competitor fortunate enough to win all 3, to this day nobody has won all three, however Launch eventually pulled their name from these events. 2017 was an obvious exception where he did not want to do anything other than the race. Some of the drivers still compete in a round of golf before the Indy race.

Thanks to his allegiance to Koswieger for so many years, he was the proud owner of a GT-K, the manufacturers flagship supercar, one of only 100 made. Which he sold in an auction after the events of 2017

Michael Sykes was one of the Spokespeople for Launch Energy drinks, and had been featured in 2 of the more well known commercials as the "Driver" of the spaceship that would "Launch" in the 2012 edition, for the 2013 edition he was seen in a "Mr. Sulu"-style Pilot position aboard the "Red Alert" for the 2013 edition.

Career Stats
Early Career

First Return To Racing

TM Master Cup Career(Sykes' second return to racing)