Jonathan Rea’s farewell to Kawasaki is almost over, with Jerez hosting the final round of the World Superbike Championship this weekend. It will be Rea’s last dance with the manufacturer that has been with him for the last seven years and with which he has won six world titles, which is why it will be very intense in terms of emotions, with the rider wanting to go out on a high note.

Looking ahead to the decisive round of the World Championship, where the champion will be crowned, Rea began by reflecting on the mental aspect, with his farewell to the team in sight: ‘It is a strange feeling going to Jerez knowing that it is my last round with KRT and I am sure it is going to be an emotional weekend together with the staff’.

The #65 then spoke about the work that will take place on the spanish track: ‘On track we will try to do the best job we can. It is a track that perhaps has been a difficult one for us but we have also shared some great times there, winning races. It was also the scene of winning my first World Championship for Kawasaki. We do a lot of laps there in the winter tests so we have a good idea of set-up. Of course, the Ninja ZX-10RR has evolved throughout the year and we have made steps in a positive direction’.

Rea continued his analysis, with the championship place in mind: ‘I really want to finish the year strongly for my team. We are still fighting for third place in the championship. The big target of the weekend is to enjoy riding the bike and do the best job we can but also to ensure we deliver that top three in the World Championship’.

The briton then concluded with a clear wish: ‘I want to really try to enjoy the weekend with my team. All the build up to the weekend, all the weekend, and of course post-race, reflecting on what an amazing partnership it has been – I am sure it is going to be an emotional one. I hope I can give a good account of myself and do the team proud’.

O conteúdo Jonathan Rea prepares to say goodbye to Kawasaki at Jerez: ‘It is a strange feeling going to Jerez knowing that it is my last round with KRT’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The Superbike World Championship is in Portugal this weekend for another round on the 2023 calendar. And after a very lively Friday, with some surprises, the Superopole was no different.

Jonathan Rea showed a very strong pace, reaching the 1st place of the grid, with a lap that put him only 0.010s from the record of the Algarve circuit in a Superbike, a record that belongs exactly to the six-time world champion. At his side was his team-mate Sam Lowes, who managed to take second place in qualifying, the day after learning who his new team-mate will be in 2024.

Opening the second row was Andrea Locatelli, who despite the 3rd position will be forced from the last place of the grid, after a penalty applied, for not having removed his Yamaha from the track in Aragon, when it began to lose fluids and were shown the respective warnings. Behind him, in 4th place, Toprak Razgatlioglou managed to surpass Alvaro Bautista who went no further than a 5th place.

In sixth, and best Honda, was Iker Lecuona, who saw his teammate qualify only 14th. Garrett Gerloff, who even closed FP1 in first place and FP2 in second, did not go beyond 12th position in Superpole.

With the Kawasaki showing excellent pace and Razgatlioglu in urgent need of points to prevent Bautista from reclaiming the title, the first race of the weekend in the biggest category of the SBK world championship promises to be quite lively and could offer surprises up front, although a three-way fight with Rea is expected once again.  Bautista and Toprak fighting for the top spot on the podium.

O conteúdo Rea and Lowes dominate, Yamaha lurking and Bautista just 5th aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is heating up as the season nears its conclusion. The Pirelli Portuguese Round at Portimao has already shown signs of being a spectacular event. On the first day, Alvaro Bautista of Aruba.it Racing – Ducati took the top spot, setting a strong pace that left many trailing.

Factory Ducatis had a commendable performance with both Bautista and his teammate, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, showing their prowess. Bautista led for most of the FP1 session and continued his dominance in the afternoon, setting a time of 1’40.476. Rinaldi, on the other hand, secured the third spot by the end of the day.

Jonathan Rea of Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK, a 13-time winner at Portimao, managed to secure the fourth position. His teammate, Alex Lowes, who had missed the Aragon round, finished the day in 14th place.

Garrett Gerloff of Bonovo Action BMW was the star of the day. After topping the FP1 session, he finished the day in second place on the combined times. His performance has undoubtedly put BMW in the spotlight, with Michael van der Mark of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team finishing in sixth.

However, the day wasn’t as fruitful for Toprak Razgatlioglu of Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK. Despite his past successes at Portimao, he finished in the eighth position. His teammate, Andrea Locatelli, was just ahead in seventh.

Team HRC had a challenging day with Iker Lecuona finishing in 11th and Xavi Vierge in 17th. The day was filled with intense moments, including an incident between Lorenzo Baldassarri of GMT94 Yamaha and Gerloff.

The top six after WorldSBK’s Friday at Portimao are:

1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’40.476s
2. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) +0.287s
3. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.351s
4. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.542s
5. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.546s
6. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.771s

O conteúdo Bautista Dominates, Gerloff Shines, and Toprak Struggles on Day 1 at Portimao aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea offers a seasoned perspective on the ongoing title race, drawing from his vast experience and the challenges he’s faced in similar situations. Before delving into his prospects at Portimao, Rea reflects on the dynamics of the championship.

Rea muses, “Being in Alvaro’s shoes, one can’t help but constantly calculate the narrowing gap and the dwindling number of races left. It’s a game of numbers, and with each race, the equation changes. A single weekend can dramatically alter the championship trajectory, either amplifying an advantage or diminishing it.”

He continues, “Alvaro started the season on a high, seemingly unstoppable. But as we’ve seen in recent races, they’ve hit a few bumps. The momentum, which was once firmly in his corner, appears to be waning. His recent performances have been marred by unexpected errors. On the other hand, Toprak has been showcasing commendable skills, but in this sport, it’s not just about skill; it’s about clinching victories. The difference in points between the first and second positions is significant, especially at this crucial juncture. Essentially, the ball is in Alvaro’s court; he has the most to lose.”

Rea then shifts his focus to his own strategy, emphasizing the importance of understanding one’s competitors. “To excel, we must be acutely aware of our rivals’ strengths and vulnerabilities. By doing so, we can leverage our advantages and mitigate our shortcomings depending on the circuit. Portimao, in particular, might be more forgiving to our weak spots. Our approach here is to maintain momentum, especially in fourth gear. If we can master this, coupled with a strong performance throughout the track, we might just tip the scales in our favor,” he concludes with determination.

O conteúdo “Momentum was all with Alvaro, now it seems to be going against him; It’s all for him to lose” – Jonathan Rea aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Mixed day for Jonathan Rea at Aragon in the Superbike World Championship with a podium and a fourth place. The british from Kawasaki spoke of some situations regarding both races, thinking about the tyre selection and how not everything went that well…

The british began by speaking of how he didn’t change things that much from saturday to sunday regarding to the settings, while also making some considerations towards the tyre selection: ‘The bike set-up wasn’t so much different this sunday so we have to analyse what has happened in Race Two. I am just guessing right now but I think with the SCX-A rear tyre maybe we were over the temperature threshold. I think the standard SCX was probably the better choice. If I had to do the race again I would change that. But in these temperatures I also struggled with the front tyre in turning, stability etc’.

He then spoke about the first race of the day and how the bike worked as expected… but not everything went as well: ‘I eventually started to check my pitboard with Bassani behind and tried to keep him at bay. The Superpole race before then was incredible. The bike worked amazingly well. I need to take the positives away from the weekend because it’s no mean feat to just turn up here and be on the podium. I was really disappointed in the Superpole Race because I did everything I could. The amount of time we lost in one small sector is incredible. So, I was disappointed after I did all that good work during what I saw was a good opportunity for us’.

And also shed his thoughts on the second race, which didn’t go accordingly to what he wanted: ‘Race Two was a bit of a curve ball. I didn’t see it coming that we would struggle that badly. But, overall, it’s a been a positive weekend’.

O conteúdo Jonathan Rea had ‘a positive weekend’ in Aragon but was somewhat ‘disappointed’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Drama and emotion right up to the last second. As can only be expected in the World Superbike Championship, the Superpole race was once again full of emotion right up to the last moment, as was the case with Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea, with the spaniard taking the win after beating the briton on the last lap of the aragonese track.

The current leader in the standings ended up as the winner for the first time this weekend, so it wasn’t all plain sailing, as you can see from the difference with which Bautista beat Rea, 0.179s, and with the overtake that would end up putting him as the winner coming… on the last lap.

Bautista then prevented the former world champion from taking his second win of the weekend, while Toprak Razgatlioglu was third with a gap of 0.475s to the #1, with this once again being a race in which the Titanic Trio once again outclassed (and in what a way) everyone else.

Fourth place went to Andrea Locatelli, who was more than five seconds behind Bautista, while race 1 winner Michael Rinaldi was only fifth.

O conteúdo Down to the last breath: Alvaro Bautista wins Superpole race after overtaking Jonathan Rea on the last lap aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jonathan Rea is back to pole positions in the World Superbike Championship. This Saturday, the six-time champion was the fastest in the Superpole at the Aragón round.

It was in the early stages that the British rider from Kawasaki took the lead, with less than five minutes gone. Once in front, Rea never relinquished the position, even improving his time in the last ten minutes.

Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), the championship leader, came closest to Rea, securing the second spot on the grid, 0.351 seconds slower than his rival. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) was third.

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) crashed on his first flying lap at turn eight and couldn’t complete any timed laps, appearing on the official results as not qualified.

Results:

O conteúdo Jonathan Rea beats Álvaro Bautista and secures pole position in WSBK at Aragón aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jonathan Rea is actively seeking his best form this year and acknowledges that he feels increasingly better, especially with the return of a World Superbikes round at a track filled with fond memories for him.

In a preview statement, the British Kawasaki rider reminisced about the Spanish circuit warmly, recalling the positive vibes he had earlier this year when he raced there: “Aragón is a very cool track, one that I really like, and it’s quite challenging for a rider. I have great memories from the past. In fact, the first time I rode the Ninja ZX-10R was in Aragón, and I fondly remember those initial laps. I hope to recreate that feeling of truly enjoying the bike. We had a test there during the summer break, and it was positive. I felt fast and consistent.”

He then admitted that since roughly the middle of the season, he has been improving and feels more in sync with his bike: “Since mid-season, we started to find some rhythm with the bike’s setup. We’ve been working well as a team and have been able to fight for podiums. It’s crucial to be strong but also consistent. We now have two race weekends, and the goal is to maximize our chances to fight for the podium and continue scoring significant points.”

Currently, Rea stands third in the championship with 290 points, while Álvaro Bautista leads with 467 points.

O conteúdo Jonathan Rea ready for another round of WSBK, at a track he remembers well; the British rider wants to be ‘strong and consistent’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Kawasaki Racing Team rider Jonathan Rea completed his second triple podium weekend of the 2023 WorldSBK season by taking two third places on the final day of race action at Magny Cours. His team-mate Alex Lowes could not complete the ten-lap Superpole race on the final morning and withdrew from Race Two with a left knee issue.

The opening race on Sunday in France was the Tissot-Superpole ‘sprint’ held over ten laps. Rea and Lowes were running just behind the top three battle when the two official Ducati riders touched, and Michael Ruben Rinaldi crashed out.

Jonathan was up to second at that point as Alvaro Bautista had lost his track position but he was unable to catch eventual race winner Toprak Razgatlioglu. Rea would finally finish third as Bautista came back through to second.

The fight for podium places between Rea and his old rival Toprak Razgatlioglu was as intense as ever in the restart. Bautista had made a break to take the race win but Rea and Razgatlioglu attacked at every opportunity in their efforts to finish second. Eventually Razgatlioglu would be the runner-up and Rea was a close third.

Three podium places for Rea made Magny Cours his second best weekend of the season and consolidated his grip on third place in the championship. He is now 34 points ahead of fourth placed Andrea Locatelli.

In the championship rankings, Bautista has 467 points, Razgatlioglu 410 and Rea 290. Lowes is eighth with 129 points. The next round takes place at Motorland Aragon, between 29 September and 1 October.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “I am really happy to have taken three podium finishes this weekend. From Friday I felt like I had quite a good rhythm but then we didn’t go in the best direction with the set-up. In Race One and even in the Superpole Race I was happy with the bike set-up but I was not able to really ‘dance.’ In Race Two I felt much better from the get-go. I felt like I could do everything to be with Alvaro but he was just on a different level. In the first start of the final race he was making a lot of mistakes but just keeping the lap time. As soon as he cleaned up his riding style, he was gone. Nothing to do really, so I was quite happy that Toprak wasn’t just coming through on me. I could see on my pitboard that he was there behind me, so I thought that maybe today my pace was OK. In the last few laps I was fighting with him a lot – and enjoying it! Toprak in Magny Cours is really strong so I think it does show that we had a positive trend over the weekend, making the bike better. I could stop it quite well and we had good mechanical traction.”

O conteúdo ‘I felt like I could do everything to be with Alvaro but he was just on a different level’ – Jonathan Rea aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The Superpole Superbike race at Magny-Cours meant another victory for Toprak Razgatligolu, with the turk the fastest on track in a race where Alvaro Bautista was second after a heated duel with… Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

Bautista even had the best start but didn’t stay in front for long, as Razgatlioglu went from third to first on the second lap, overtaking the official Ducati duo.

Rinaldi was in good form and even moved into the lead of the race for two laps, before Razgatlioglu attacked successfully once again and it was here that Bautista, behind the #54, touched Rinaldi who… came off the bike and was forced to abandon, even visiting the circuit’s medical centre afterwards.

The incident was later analysed by the stewards, who decided that there was no reason to penalise Bautista.

As the race went on, Jonathan Rea, who had got ahead of Bautista, was overtaken and continued to the end behind the Spaniard, who was unable to avoid Toprak Razgatlioglu’s victory, his second of the weekend in France.

So ended the race:

O conteúdo Toprak Razgatlioglu makes the double at Magny-Cours after victory in Superpole, where Alvaro Bautista had a fierce duel with Rinaldi aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.