Round Two Anticipation Builds For KRT Duo
KRT riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes are looking forward to competing at a true classic WorldSBK venue when the second round of the WorldSBK championship gets underway at the TT Circuit Assen, between 22-24 April.
After making a winning start to his latest campaign on his Ninja ZX-10RR at the Motorland Aragon opening round Rea approaches his statistically best circuit with a high degree of confidence and three podium finishes from three race starts so far. He was the victor in a thrilling Race One at Motorland, before going on to finish second in the two subsequent contests.
Rea has scored a class-leading 15 race victories at the Assen circuit, ten of them on Kawasaki machinery. Fifteen is the greatest number of race wins at a single circuit for any rider in WorldSBK racing history; just one of the many records held by six-times champion Rea.
Lowes is looking to boost his early season championship position after a Race One no-score preceded his sixth and fifth place finishes at the opening round in Aragon. Alex has scored one podium finish at Assen in the past, his very first top three performance in WorldSBK, in 2014. He has also taken a pre-race Superpole starting position at Assen, in 2018.
Alex set the fastest lap of Race Two at Motorland recently, proving that his pace is progressing well as he aims to get back into the championship fight in the coming rounds.
In the overall points’ standings Rea is second with 54 and Lowes is eighth overall, with 15. After Assen there will be a small break in the championship calendar as Round Three will not take place until May 20-22, at Estoril in Portugal.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “I expect to do my best again. Of course, I expect to be strong, but you never know how strong. The level is really good now. I hope my bike works well from the first day and we can, step-by-step, build the package. I think the temperature will be a little bit lower than it was in Motorland, so we have to understand the life of all the tyre options and see what happens. But Assen is a track I really love. A lot of fans make the journey from the UK, so I’m excited.”
Alex Lowes, stated: “Assen is a track I really enjoy and the Dutch fans are fantastic. I’m hoping to see them out in force this weekend. We had a solid Sunday at Round One and I’m looking forward to building on that. I am excited to see if me and my guys can challenge for our first podium of the 2022 season.”
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) will be back in action and out for more points scores in his second season of WorldSBK competition. He is 14th overall in the championship rankings after Round One.
Oliver König (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) is enjoying his first season of WordSBK competition on the Ninja ZX-10RR, and like his fellow independent rider Loris Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) he is aiming to score his first championship points at Assen this coming weekend.
