Superbike Test Jerez: Kawasaki busy with two days of work

Unlike the other top teams involved in testing on the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli track, the scene of the next round of the world championship, the Kawasaki Racing Team has chosen to focus on the development of the Ninja in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea evaluated many parts to best face the second part of the season and also made improvements in the basic race set up, thanks to warm temperatures and a dry track, which allowed them to complete a good number of laps and finish the work program.
Even though the objective of this two-day test was not to improve pace, both drivers proved to be competitive, even with used tires and very high asphalt temperatures.
Sykes and Rea will therefore present themselves at their best at the next seasonal event, the Pirelli Riviera di Rimini Round scheduled for 17 to 19 June in Misano.

“With the good weather we were able to have plenty of time available, without interruptions, and the high temperatures were significant for when we return to racing here in October” – said the reigning champion Jonathan Rhea – “We mainly focused on electronics and other components in preparation for 2017. We got positive information and the main focus was on testing the new material. The lap time wasn't that important, but we managed to be quite fast and consistent on used tyres, and we lapped a lot on them. We got some really valuable information in some areas ahead of the next race, and some benefits won't be seen until 2017.”

“We had a good test in general and we lapped a lot” – he added Tom Sykes – “I'm really happy and the pace I maintained here was really good, especially considering the high temperatures of the track. We were able to try several new components that we had not been able to test during the race weekends and we evaluated many things about the chassis and suspension, including the electronics. I did about 80 laps a day and now I can relax and think about all the work we've done here. It was really nice to try, we evaluated a lot of things and we are ready for the next race in Misano. Our lap times were fast, I'm pleasantly surprised."