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25 Szeptember 2022

Superpole Race Podiums For Rea And Lowes

Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes each scored a podium in the ten-lap Superpole Race  at Barcelona-Catalunya, with Rea then fourth in the 20-lap Race Two and Lowes an early faller.

The intense Superpole ‘sprint’ race, which is a traditional Sunday morning feature at all WorldSBK races, presented the Barcelona-based KRT squad with two home podium successes. Lowes and Rea chased eventual race winner Alvaro Bautista all the way to the flag in dry track conditions. Rea would finally get past Lowes to take second place, with Alex taking his first podium finish since his home round at Donington Park.

In Race Two, held in the warmest conditions of the weekend, Rea would end up fourth after fighting for the podium positions for much of the race. Only a late off-track excursion when he found a false neutral prevented Jonathan from being close enough to make a final push for the top three places once again.

Rea leaves Catalunya in third place overall in the championship, with a weekend record of 2-2-4 in terms of final race results.

Lowes was in sparkling form in the early laps of the Superpole race, as he was the closest rider to runaway leader Alvaro Bautista. He only lost second place to Rea later in the ten-lap race.

Lowes was unlucky to fall on lap one of the final Race Two, losing the front with a full fuel load onboard.

As it stands, with four WorldSBK rounds and 12 individual races left to run in 2022, triple Catalunya race winner Alvaro Bautista leads the points table with a total of 394. Toprak Razgatlioglu has 335 points and Jonathan 327. Alex is seventh overall, on 161 points.

KRT will make a very short test at Catalunya on Monday 26 September, and then another full day at Motorland Aragon on Wednesday 28 September.

The next competitive WorldSBK round will take place in Portugal, at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, between 7-9 October.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “In the Superpole race it went as planned. I got one of the best starts of the season, which has been a tough area at times. That changed the dynamic of my race because I was in a good track position straight away. Alex’s pace was amazing in the Superpole Race. I could see after ten laps that I had good tyre, even compared to Alvaro. I was quite optimistic going into Race Two. For the long race the temperature was eight degrees hotter than yesterday. I expected a tough race but honestly, I think the rhythm was more consistent than yesterday. In Race Two, with six laps to go, I found a false neutral in T7. I went into that corner with no engine brake, the front was jumping and I was trying everything not to crash. I tried to salvage a podium but I ran out of laps. I’m frustrated because I think we deserved a little bit more, but it wasn’t to be. Coming to Barcelona I expected a very tough weekend, with the tyre consumption, speed, with everything. Finally we got out with a 2-2-4 weekend, which was better than expected.”

Alex Lowes, stated: “It was nice to be back on the podium this morning in the Superpole Race, especially at the team’s home track. But, it was a shame to end the weekend with a fall. I got swallowed up off the start. It was a good start but we lost a bit on acceleration so I got passed by a few guys. I managed to make some good moves in the first part of the lap and got in behind Toprak. As the bike was sliding it came back into line with a full fuel tank, it just pushed the front a little bit. I had gone for the hard front tyre compared to what I used this morning and it didn’t have enough grip. It just caught me out. I don’t think we had the pace for the podium in the long race but I think we have made some improvements on the bike from yesterday, so that would have been interesting to see if we could have kept the used tyres going a bit more. I am not going to let that second race take away from anything because this is a tough track for me, a tough track for the bike in some ways, and I have been so happy with my speed and feeling from the bike. Big thanks to the team because they have been busy all week with extra stuff to do. So, it was nice to get a good result in qualifying and a good result this morning in the Superpole Race.”

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) put in two points scoring Sunday race performances, finishing 11th and 12th. He is 14th overall in the championship with 47 points.

Oliver König (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was 20th in the Superpole Race and 18th in Race Two. Oscar Gutierrez (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) placed 18th in the sprint race but retired from Race Two after pulling into the pits.

2022 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics

Jonathan Rea: World Champion 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020
2022: Races 24, Wins 5, Podiums 18, Superpoles 4
Career Race Wins: 117 (102 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 233 (191 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 39 (35 for Kawasaki)

Alex Lowes:
2022: Races: 23, Wins 0, Podiums 2, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 2 (1 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 31 (11 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 1 (0 for Kawasaki)

8 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
6 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)

Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
Total Kawasaki Race Wins: 176 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Podiums: 509 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 104 – second overall

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