The start of the 2024 WorldSBK championship is getting closer for KRT riders, alex lowes et Axel Bassani, who have just completed a two-day positive test in Portimao, Portugal. This is the final test session in Europe before the entire KRT team takes part in the first of 12 rounds of the championship, at Phillip Island, Australia.
Much like the recent two-day test at Jerez in Spain, Portimao benefited from consistent weather and track conditions, allowing the new recruit Axel Bassani and to the more experienced rider on the Ninja ZX-10RR, alex lowes, to do a lot of work over the course of two full track days, alongside their 2024 opponents.
After spending the first day working with used tires, in order to obtain an optimal configuration of the bike for the start of the racing season, alex lowes was free to try and get a good lap time on a qualifying tire. He finished third on the second day in Portimao, with a personal best of 1'39.521, thus showing himself to be a worthy successor to Jonathan Rhea left for Yamaha.
Axel Bassani has once again continued to learn the intricacies of the Ninja ZX-10RR in his first season with Kawasaki, and his first with an official WorldSBK team. The Italian driver once again improved his setup over the entire distance of the race, while continuing to gain experience. With softer tires he improved his best lap to 1'40.362, just over a second off the fastest lap, putting him 12th overall.
With a lot of hard and positive work accomplished, and final decisions made on how to approach the first round of the championship, KRT feels ready to make its final preparations before the season begins in earnest in a few weeks.
The FIM Superbike World Championship will officially begin from January 23-25. Before that, there will be the KRT team launch on February 8 and an official two-day test for the organizers at Phillip Island, which will take place on February 19-20.
alex lowes : “We worked hard this winter with my team leader Pere on the settings for the used tires. The last day here in Portimao was the first where he pushed me to focus on finding speed. The work we did on the electronics and the settings allowed us to improve our pace with the used tires. We weren't sure how this would affect our pace over a lap, but when we continued to run the SCQ tire I did a few laps in the 1'39s, my best lap here. So we must be satisfied because the bike was working well. We finished our winter testing in Europe with our best day yet. »
Axel Bassani : “This test was good and the Kawasaki family is really friendly. It feels like home. I'm really happy to be here. The bike is not easy at the moment and we need to improve a lot, but that's why we are testing it here. The whole team is putting a lot of effort into trying to be first in WorldSBK, and we have a lot to do. The first test in Jerez wasn't easy because the bike was completely different from the one I rode before, but step by step I'm starting to learn a lot about this machine. I had to completely change my riding style. I have to think about everything I have to do. We have worked a lot on this point, especially during the last two days of European testing in Portimao. We have improved a lot. We are ready for the next test in Australia. »
Riba pears (Alex Lowes team leader): “Our lap time at the end of this test was good, but we focused on the weaker points of our package at the start, and on adapting the bike to the new rules. We focused on the same points in Jerez and here in Portimao. We have improved the electronics and balance, in terms of chassis, swingarm and other measures. We worked with Showa, as always. I would say that I am very happy. In Jerez, Alex has already had a very good performance. Now we have to get to the races and ride in warmer conditions. But it seems like Alex is very consistent, very linear when it comes to lap times. He does the same times from the second lap until the 18th lap, which is very impressive. A very important point is that I always work with the pilot's feelings. I think he communicates very deeply with the motorcycle, that he understands when there is a new tire, when the tire deteriorates, when the behavior of the motorcycle changes; he understands it. He made a big effort and a lot of laps. Congratulations to Alex who did a very good job, like everyone else on the team. Now we are ready to go to Australia and continue working. We still have work to do, as always, because the work never stops. »
Marcel Duinker : “I'm impressed with the way Axel is handling all these tests, because it's not easy to join a factory team. He showed professionalism despite his young age and really invested himself in his work. It's not the easiest circuit, especially when you're new to a motorcycle and still need to learn how to handle it properly. Our bike has a unique character and it takes time to get used to it. But especially on the last day of this test, the bike and the rider got closer and we made some small adjustments to the chassis setup. We reconfirmed some elements that we had in Jerez. Today especially we had the first Phillip Island race in mind and we are really preparing for the first round. We had a long run and Axel started to change his riding style to better suit the Ninja ZX-10RR. He learned a lot during these 15 rounds. In the end, we used softer tires and Axel was able to improve his lap time with each set of tires. We can say that we did a good job in this test and really prepared for Phillip Island. »
WSBK, Portimao J2 Test: times
WSBK, Portimao J1 Test: times
