Superbike: Jonathan Rea seeks the definitive seal for the title in Sepang

Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes are preparing to face the tenth round of the season, scheduled to start tomorrow, Friday 31 July at the Sepang International Circuit, which on paper is crucial for both drivers' title ambitions, but also for the standings builders.

Last year Sykes was the innocent protagonist of a crash during the first lap, when at turn two he found himself in the gravel due to the crash of his then teammate, Loris Baz; in Race 2, despite the blow to his hand, the Englishman gritted his teeth and finished in third place.

For Jonathan Rea this could be the decisive round for the title, in which to definitively close a discussion which, to tell the truth, seems to have been closed for some time now: in the last edition, riding the CBR Pata Honda, he obtained sixth places, but this year the situation will be very different given the extraordinary roadmap imposed so far this season.
In theory Rea has the possibility of winning the title in Malaysia if he were to gain another 25 points advantage over his teammate in Sepang.

“I always enjoy trips outside Europe very much. Looking at last year's races, I certainly struggled, but the ZX-10Rs proved to be competitive. I expect very high temperatures in Sepang and, with the race times and the time of year of this edition, there is a high probability of rain in the afternoon and, for this reason, we must be ready to react to changes in weather" - he said Jonathan Rhea -“In Laguna, given the characteristics of the track and the temperatures, I wasn't able to use my favorite compound on the front. However, I believe that here in Sepang the hard choice on the front will be the most suitable one and I therefore hope to be able to find the right set-up, as has almost always happened before the United States. I'm hoping for a competitive weekend, which will allow me to look forward to the summer break with positivity. Sepang is a track that I really like and the fans in Asia are incredible, so I think we will have fun."

“The Sepang track is incredible and I love it. The Tom Sykes and Kawasaki fans are fantastic and always come in large numbers, which is really nice to see” – he said Tom Sykes – “The track is wonderful and I don't mind the weather conditions at all. It's completely different from the rest and represents a good challenge, but that's also why I like it. Last year I felt comfortable riding the ZX-10R and since the start of the season the feeling with the bike has improved a lot. The track is very wide and open and for this reason the reference points are not as clear as on other tracks. There is a large tarmac surface for you to use and this allows you to get out the fast lap. Sometimes the track is so big that it swallows you up in a certain way and you almost have the feeling of having to use it all, while in certain cases it is better to use a more internal trajectory. It's a really technical track.”