Superbikes that challenge MotoGP on the same track... Victory, at the end of the confrontation, thanks to a lively Jonathan Rea on a Kawasaki born from the series and braking with steel discs... This is what we will remember, finally, last Jerez tests. It was thus in chaos that MotoGP entered its winter quarters while the old rivalry between the two categories of motorcycle speed reignited. However, some had warned that the subject was a rubbish story. However, everyone makes blood sausage.
It must be said that the double World Champion in the Superbike category did not do things by halves. He completely beat with his ZX-10R the pole position time of the last Grand Prix at Jerez achieved this season by Valentino Rossi on his Yamaha M1. Enough to make the manufacturers who invest so much in a MotoGP program cringe, unlike Kawasaki which has made Superbike its playground.
We must therefore explain and justify ourselves. Otherwise, what’s the point of thinking about prototypes? And that Kawasaki is lining up its sports car coming out of the dealership to compete in Grands Prix! The only relief in this story is the fact that it is the same Dorna who organizes the two disciplines. That said, she can now bite her fingers at having brought them together in the same place to film them together.
The explanation for this discrepancy has, however, been put forward. These are Pirelli tires. Petrucci said it, the other pilots echoed it. But to praise Pirelli is also to scratch Michelin, even if the two manufacturers had brought different products. There were therefore numerous outbreaks of fire in Jerez!
To put them out, it was the arsonist Pirelli who decided to act as a fireman. On GP One, the representative of the Italian brand on the ground George Barbier said : " Let's make some simple observations: Jerez is our winter test track, and its characteristics highlight our products. What's more, the colder the track, the more efficient our tires are and the times fall ". And it was cold during the Jerez tests.
« So we shouldn't be surprised and the conditions worked in our favor. If we had come to Andalusia with higher temperatures, the performance would not have been as good. The best MotoGP riders were not there. I also want to say that Michelin does a very good job. It's not easy to start from scratch and what they have done in one season to reach such a level as a unique manufacturer deserves to be highlighted. And then MotoGP developed electronics in all areas. Their frames are more balanced, their weight distribution is more efficient and they brake better ". Congratulations that sound like an apology for showing yourself in Jerez in such a beautiful light...
