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Kawasaki riders reveal plans and bike changes after Friday Teruel running

Friday, 4 September 2020 17:18 GMT

    • Rea and Lowes showed strong pace throughout Friday’s running and will be keen to convert that as WorldSBK action turns to Superpole and racing

    Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK head into the Pirelli Teruel Round on the back of two wins courtesy of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and started off the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action in almost perfect fashion by getting both Rea and teammates Alex Lowes into the top three after Friday action, finishing only behind pace setter Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN).

    Rea was one of the latest to set a lap time in Free Practice 1 before moving straight to the top of the timesheets only for Rinaldi to usurp him as the 50-minute session went on. It was a familiar story in Free Practice 2 as Rea set a lap time later than most in the field before Rinaldi was able to go three tenths faster even later in the session.

    Rea revealed his plan for the day, as he said: “It was a completely calm down, all on schedule. In the first session to do some tests with the windscreen, tried a little bit of a different shape to see if we could pick up some speed on the straights. It’s very difficult to tell with the data. Lap by lap it felt consistent and I think we have a positive feeling. In the second session, we did a long run with the soft tyre to get some info for tomorrow.”

    Lowes finished Free Practice 1 for the Pirelli Teruel Round in third place, around half a second behind Rea and Rinaldi, while he was eighth in Free Practice 2 with a similar gap to Rinaldi who had topped the second session as well as the opening session. Lowes will be hoping he can convert his strong early pace into his first podium since the opening round of the 2020 season at Phillip Island.

    Lowes admitted a change of direction from the last round, saying: “Last weekend, we made a change for the second race. I didn’t feel very comfortable on the bike, so I knew this direction didn’t work so we went back to our preferred setting. From this morning, I felt really good with the bike. In the afternoon, when it was a lot hotter, my settings were still working quite well. I feel good on the bike and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

    You can follow the Pirelli Teruel Round using the WorldSBK VideoPass!