Kawasaki Racing Team Riders Enter Crucial Weekend 1-2 Overall

Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes look forward to the 11th round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship at Magny Cours in France sitting first and second in the points table, with three rounds and six races still to run.

Rea has already won nine races on the all-new Ninja ZX-10R and Sykes five, in what has been a great showing for Kawasaki’s latest flagship sportsbike at the highest level of production-derived racing.

After scoring some heavily contrasting results in the more recent championship rounds Rea and Sykes will arrive in France with a points differential of 47 between them. The championship battle is, therefore, very much still alive, especially with potential of 150 points on offer for any rider who can win all six of the remaining races.

Only one other rider – third placed Chaz Davies – has a mathematical chance of overtaking either of the KRT duo to win the riders’ title this year, but he is currently 98 points adrift of Rea and 51 points behind Sykes. If Rea leaves Magny Cours with even three points more than Davies can score, Kawasaki would be guaranteed the riders’ title – for either Rea or Sykes.

Each KRT rider has previously won races for Kawasaki at the 4.411km Magny Cours circuit, with Rea scoring a double in his championship-winning year of 2015 and Sykes having taken three race victories there between 2012 and 2013, all on Ninja ZX-10R machinery.

The career statistics for both Jonathan and Tom moved on once more after the most recent round in Germany. Rea now has 38 race wins, 83 podiums, six Superpoles, 39 front row starts and 26 fastest laps to his credit in WorldSBK. Sykes, the 2013 world champion, has 31 wins, 79 podiums, 37 Superpoles, 55 front row starts and 31 fastest laps in his career to date.

Magny Cours has featured prominently in both Tom and Jonathan’s WorldSBK experiences and is a popular venue in general, with a strong base of enthusiastic local spectators. The circuit, located near the town of Nevers, has hosted 14 WorldSBK weekends in all, starting way back in 1991. It has featured on the calendar without a break since 2003 and has often been a crucial weekend in determining where championship titles will eventually end up.

Kawasaki has enjoyed a long-term lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship thanks to the capabilities of the 2016 model Ninja ZX-10R. Another prospect for Kawasaki at Magny Cours is the mathematical chance to be awarded the Manufacturers’ Championship trophy.

The penultimate weekend of the 13-round WorldSBK season will take place at Jerez in Spain, with racedays on 15th and 16th October. The final round will be held in Qatar, between 28th and 30th October.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “A wet race win in Germany was a nice way to finish the weekend last time out and I have l slept really well this week. I am looking forward to Magny Cours because I have had a good history there and I enjoy riding it. It is always pretty full of French fans and, of course, it is that crucial time of the season now. We have a points advantage but not enough to be comfortable with, so we still have to go out and make big points in France. Of course, at this stage of the year I am thinking about the gap but I do not want to let it affect my riding. We can’t really manage a 47-point lead because we can see how easy it is to lose a bunch of points. But going into the weekend in France I am happy and confident on the bike and we have a lot of data for the track. We know what works there and we will start with a good base and work step-by-step through the weekend.”

Tom Sykes, stated: “Magny Cours is a track that we have had great results at in the past but the thing is that now we can go to every track knowing we have the potential to win. Magny Cours is one venue that has stood out in the past, so we are going there to utilise the best of our potential. We have seen already this year how fast things can turn on their heads. In Germany on one day it all went for me and then on the second day it went against me. We can see how fast things can change in racing. We still have a long way to go and we are still in the running. Kawasaki riders are 1-2 in the championship so obviously we are doing something right! We have some good ideas, if the weather is wet, to change things up to give me what I need.”