Arriving in Portimão, after the Phillip Island and Jerez events, Johnny Rea et alex lowes, the two Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK teammates, had their ZX-10RRs in second and third positions in the provisional general classification of the World Championship with 74 and 72 points respectively, while the rookie pranced in the lead Scott Redding, who with his Ducati Panigale V4 R totaled 98 points.
Then everything changed in Portugal where five-time World Champion Jonathan Rea won all three races, while Redding had to be content with just one second place on the podium. Thanks to his three victories, Johnny Rea took the lead in the standings with 136 points, against 132 for Scott Redding, 103 for Toprak Razgatlioglu and 91 to Alex Lowes, with Loris Baz eighth with 54 points.
Rea could arrive confident for this double weekend in Aragon, having finished second there three times last year behind triple winner Alvaro Bautista.
Rea won three races at Motorland and was on the podium 12 times in total, at the venue in the hills near the historic town of Alcaniz. Since joining Kawasaki in 2015, Jonathan has been on the podium at every Aragón race he has competed in.
The WorldSBK action begins at the Motorland circuit this Friday August 28, and as usual there will be three WorldSBK races. The first race, of 18 laps, will take place on Saturday August 29, the Superpole sprint race on Sunday morning and finally the second long distance race on Sunday afternoon.
This weekend's Aragón round will be followed a week later by the Teruel round, which will take place at the same Motorland venue.
In mid-August testing in Aragón, Alex Lowes was fastest on the second day in 1'49.807, ahead of Michael van der Mark in 1'50.093, Johnny Rea in 1'50.196 and Scott Redding in 1'50.335.
Ranking of recent Aragón tests:
Jonathan Rhea declared when leaving for Spain: “ I'm very excited about going to Aragón, especially as we've ridden a lot in the last few weeks, in Jerez, Portimão and the recent Aragón test, so I feel really good on the bike . »
“This test was an opportunity to drive on the circuit in very hot summer conditions. We haven't done this for several years, as we use it as a test track in the winter. »
“The bike worked really well in the heat, which confirmed our new base setting. Looking ahead to this weekend, temperatures could be cooler than during the test, which would be more pleasant. »
“So we need to make sure that we are ready on Friday to get an adjustment that is quick and consistent. The objective will be to win races. »
For its part, alex lowes his teammate felt that “We did a test at Motorland recently and I'm looking forward to the races even more now. »
“At the recent Portimão race, and a little bit at Jerez, because of the big differences in track temperature compared to winter, it was almost like we were learning some things again on Friday. »
“With a race on Saturday, we are almost straight to the heart of the matter. So I'm looking forward to continuing the hard work of the Aragón event. »
“We had a good feeling with the bike and the goal for me is to get back on the podium with the Ninja ZX-10RR. Motorland is a circuit that I really like and I am very happy to return there. »
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
Provisional classification for the Manufacturers’ World Championship:
Provisional ranking of the World Team Championship:
Photos © Kawasaki
