Superbikes | Barcelona Round: WorldSuperbike arrives in Catalonia

The top series derivative championship returns to action this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Hyundai N Catalunya Round, which for the second time will host a Round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and which will also be the first of a hat-trick scheduled over three consecutive weeks between the end of September and the beginning of October.
The program has been renewed to coincide with the MotoGP race, which takes place in Misano this weekend.

The objective is in fact to allow all fans to experience a great motoring weekend between Catalonia and Romagna: it starts on Friday with WorldSBK taking to the track for the two free practice sessions at 10am and 30pm :15.
Saturday starts at 09:00 with FP3 and then leaves room for the Tissot Superpole from 11:10 which will determine the starting grid for Race 1, scheduled for 15:15.
On Sunday the alarm clock is at 9:00 with the Warm-Up, while the start of the Tissot Superpole Race is scheduled for 11:00. Race 2 of WorldSBK, however, will start at 15pm.

The Hyundai N Catalunya Round will be special for the Kawasaki Racing Team: Provec Racing, the team that can count on official Kawasaki support, is based just outside the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Rea arrives at the Catalonia Round on the back of a victory and two second places achieved at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours: the Northern Irishman is seven points adrift of championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK).

“It's exciting to return to Barcelona, ​​for many reasons,” said Rea. “Last year I won the first ever WorldSBK race held at this track and Montmelo is the team's home round. I spend a lot of time there and even in these times of COVID we have many guests and sponsors, so it will be even more important to be at 100% to do the best job possible. The circuit is really very beautiful, I really like it, especially the new turn 10 which is much more open than in the past and now the track is smoother. We carried out a test there in the summer and managed to make a good step forward with our Ninja ZX-10RR. It is a very critical circuit for tire wear and therefore we need to focus on this aspect to be strong at the end of the race. I had some good sensations with our bike, in Magny-Cours I managed to fight for the podium and in Barcelona the goal will be the same. The Championship is very competitive and now three rounds in a row await us, so it will be important to be strong but also consistent and without making mistakes. What happens in the next three weeks will have a big impact on the Championship, so I'm really excited to race there."

Boxmate Lowes arrives at the Catalunya Round on the heels of an excellent pace shown in France which, however, did not translate into results: for him in fact only a podium in the Superpole Race.
Lowes said: “Obviously the race in Catalonia is special given that it is the home race for so many of the team and also considering that the venue is so close to the start straight. So it's a special date for all the kids. It's a great track and last year it was a big addition to the WorldSBK calendar. I really like the shape. Unfortunately in the test carried out earlier this year I only covered a few laps given that in that period the shoulder problems limited me. The laps I did were good though. The new shape of Turn 10 is quite difficult to tackle in the right way from a driving point of view as it opens up on the exit. You really have to control the bike to keep it from cornering too much; in case of high temperatures it will be really important. The last sector of the ride is much smoother. I can't wait for this weekend where the goal will be to get back on the podium. At Magny-Cours we had good speed and so we want to continue like this."