KRT Enters Second Half Of The Season 1-2 In The Points Table
After the first half of the FIM Superbike World Championship season has provided great success for the Kawasaki Racing Team pairing of Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes the second half begins with even greater optimism inside the KRT camp. The next round of the championship at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli takes place between 17th and 19th June, with Rea leading the championship and Sykes in overall second place.
The recent record of Sykes and Rea at the Italian track located close to the Adriatic coast is enviable. Sykes and Rea split race wins between them for KRT last season, while Sykes scored a double win in 2014. The Misano circuit was also the scene of Rea’s first ever WorldSBK race win, while riding for his previous team during the 2009 season.
Rea, the reigning world champion for KRT, has a career total of 34 wins and has scored a podium finish in every round so far in 2016. He has five race wins to his credit this year – more than any other single rider. Jonathan leads the current championship by 56 points from Tom after demonstrating an uncanny ability to take at least a top three finish when a race win has proved elusive.
Sykes, the 2013 World Champion, has scored 30 career race wins, with a stunning double at Donington Park taking place at the most recent round. Those were his third and fourth victories in 2016 and took him to second place in the championship rankings. Sykes has taken pole position during his two most recent visits to the 4.226km long Misano layout.
In addition to Sykes’ wins and Rea’s podiums at the most recent round in the UK the entire KRT squad tested for two days at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain recently, with strong results for both riders. These tests should be a major help to both Rea and Sykes as they head to Misano for the start of a long run-in to the final round at Losail in Qatar at the end of October.
Jonathan Rea stated: “Misano is a circuit that I really enjoy and it has special memories for me because I won my first ever WorldSBK race there, and last year we were able to make a 1-2. I am also excited to race there because it seems like in the last rounds we have been doing a very good job. Although we did not get a race win at Donington I feel like I rode really strongly. We had a productive two-day test in Jerez after that in which we were able to test some things for the future but also confirmed that the direction we have been going in at Sepang and Donington with bike set-up seems to be the right way. I think we can be confident that we have found a good base with the 2016 Ninja ZX-10R. I am going to Misano to try to win both races because it has been a few rounds now since I have stood on the top step of the podium.”
Tom Sykes stated: “I am looking forward to Misano because we have some great fans there. The circuit is tight and twisty which always lends itself to good racing. To top it off we have been successful there in the past. I also feel that I have found a little bit of harmony with the Ninja ZX-10R in recent races. I am very motivated and relaxed. We won a race at Sepang in extreme conditions and won both races at Donington despite some issues in the races, which make those wins even more rewarding. We are now carrying all that momentum forward. We also had a good test at Jerez recently, learned a lot of things and evaluated quite a lot. Some other teams have tested at Misano recently but I intend to make up for that when I get there. I am very much looking forward to Misano.”