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10 Juuni 2022

Rea Third Fastest After Day One

Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes finished second and seventh respectively after the first day of practice at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Almost every rider improved their Free Practice One time in the warmer afternoon temperatures of FP2, after heavy rains on Thursday left the racing surface in less than ideal condition at the beginning of on-track action on Friday.

The 4.226km long Misano layout presented all the riders with an improving track surface in FP2, which Rea used well to record a best lap time just 0.126 seconds from top Friday qualifier, Alvaro Bautista.

Lowes ended up seventh fastest, 0.698 seconds from the leading rider. He worked on his race set-up with his team, based largely on the settings that served Alex well during the previous round at Estoril.

Misano will be the only WorldSBK round in Italy this season and the fans returned to the grandstands and paddock areas to get close to the action. The weather forecast is for hot and sunny weather for the rest of race weekend, with ambient temperatures into the high twenties Centigrade.

FP3, Superpole Qualifying and Race One will be the challenges Misano will provide all the riders and teams on the second day at Misano, on Saturday 11 June.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “I felt good with the bike out there and I was able to understand two race tyre options in FP2. The temperature was a little bit better than this morning but still we expect tomorrow to be hotter, as the sun should be out all day. For day one I feel OK with the bike. In some areas we need to improve. I expect tonight we can make some good changes. The track is very bumpy, especially in T1, T2 and T3, and the last two corners. Apart from that, it is OK.”

Alex Lowes, stated: “It was a good opening day at Misano. We worked through some electronics and I have a direction from chassis set-up. We didn’t change much from the previous round at Estoril, so we will make some small tweaks for FP3 on Saturday. Overall, I’m happy and looking for a few tenths in the laptimes. It’s always lovely to ride this track and it is very nice to see so many fans here on a Friday as well.”

Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 22nd fastest on day one as he substitutes for the team’s injured regular rider, Lucas Mahias. 

Oliver König (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was 25th today but Alessandro Delbianco (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) made an instant midfield impression in his first ride of the season, in 19th place overall.

2022 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics

Jonathan Rea: World Champion 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020
2022: Races 9, Wins 5, Podiums 8, Superpoles 1
Career Race Wins: 117 (102 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 223 (181 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 36 (32 for Kawasaki)

Alex Lowes:
2022: Races: 9, Wins 0, Podiums 0, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 2 (1 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 29 (9 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: 497 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 101 – second overall

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