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The official race report service of Kawasaki Racing Team.

4 september 2020

P2 And P3 For KRT

KRT official WorldSBK riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes (KRT) finished the opening day practice sessions at the Teruel Round of the championship second and third fastest respectively, with Jonathan just one one-thousandth of a second off the best lap time.

In what were generally hotter temperatures than the team experienced at this track last weekend during the Aragon round, both KRT riders started with a lot more data to work with today. This allowed them to make strong progress towards the head of the early qualifying rankings at the 5.077km long Spanish circuit.

Most of the faster times on Friday were set in the cooler conditions of FP1 this morning but a possibly more useful session was FP2. As the temperatures increased it moved the general track conditions closer to those the riders are expected to face during the two full distance races on Saturday and Sunday.

Rea, who won two races out of three last weekend, is now looking to refine his set-up with his technical staff to allow him to challenge for more wins as he looks to protect and ideally enhance his current ten point championship lead.

Lowes was on instantly fast form at circuit he has tested his Ninja ZX-10RR around even before last weekend’s first Motorland race weekend. He now looks to complete his pre-race set-up and tyre choices to approach the first 18-lap race at the Teruel round, to be held at 14.00 on Saturday 5 September.

Free practice three and then Superpole qualifying are the next two challenges Alex and Jonathan will face before the opening race tomorrow. On Sunday 6 September a 10-lap Tissot-Superpole ‘sprint’ and a final full distance race two will complete an intense recent period of track action for all inside the WorldSBK paddock.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “We had a completely calm day on schedule. In FP1 we decided to do some tests with the screen, to have a little bit different shape and try to see if we could improve our aerodynamics and pick up some KMPH. It was very difficult to tell from the data but we had a positive feeling. In FP2 we stuck to the plan to do a long run on the soft tyre, having a race simulation to get some info for tomorrow. I did a full 18 laps. I felt very good physically and the tyre consumption was OK. We worked to our schedule and we were second fastest, so it has been a positive day. I need to make a big effort in Superpole tomorrow because track position is everything here. With my pace being quite strong it means that if I am starting from the front row I may be able to dictate the pace a little bit better.”

Alex Lowes, stated: “We made a change to the bike set-up today and I felt good on the bike. This weekend it looks like the temperatures are going to be hotter than last time and the target is to have three really consistent strong races and get the best results I can. We do not know yet what we can achieve but we will focus on doing the best we can. We are using the settings we used at the test – also last Friday and Saturday - and it feels good; like I am quite competitive. If the temperature is higher this weekend then the races will be quite different from last time and that will be a challenge - and quite exciting, I think. It will not be the same pace or way of racing compared to last Saturday and Sunday.”

Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 13th today, making him the third fastest of the 11 independent riders in Spain this weekend. Maximilian Scheib (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was 14th and Roman Ramos (Outdo Kawasaki TPR) 19th.

2020 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics

Jonathan Rea: World Champion 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019
2020: Races 12, Wins 7, Podiums 10, Superpoles 2
Career Race Wins: 95 (80 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 178 (136 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 25 (21 for Kawasaki)

Alex Lowes:
2020: Races: 12, Wins 1, Podiums 2, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 2 (1 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 22 (2 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 1 (0 for Kawasaki)

7 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
5 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018 & 2019)
5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)

Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
Total Kawasaki Race Wins: 154 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Podiums: 445 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 90 – second overall

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