The moment of truth has come for Jonathan Rea and his new ZX-10R that Kawasaki prepared for him this winter, notably by promising him an engine with more torque. The latest Ninja has undergone its baptism of fire during the first of two days of testing at Phillip Island. What did the six-time World Champion think? Not all good...
It’s a Jonathan Rhea not yet reassured about its technical possibilities to challenge the Ducati ofAlvaro Bautista who has finished with this first day of the Phillip Island tests. Tuesday will be the last opportunity to find everything possible to optimize this news Kawasaki who, by the Northern Irishman's own admission, solved some of his problems by creating others...
On the waves of speedweek we thus read the expertise of the team member of a alex lowes who settled for fifteenth place on the timesheet: “ there are positives and negatives…Compared to last year, we have clearly improved in some areas, but we have problems that we didn't have before ". And he specifies: “ in the third sector and also at turn 3 my bike becomes agitated and nervous. On the other hand, we were able to improve on a few key points of the course ».
Jonathan Rea: “ some of the new features don't work as expected«
Sale continues: “ the first rounds were great. I had a smile on my face because I felt so much better. Then when we started working we realized we had areas where we needed to improve ". He also admits: “ some of the new features aren't working as expected, so we need a little more time. Engine characteristics have changed. My electronics engineers made the bike more manageable ". It will be recalled that Kawasaki worked on its engine in order to find more torque and therefore better acceleration in slow corners.
The pilot of 36 years set his best time at the start of the second session and only completed 20 laps in the afternoon. “ The choice of tires is strange because they are not the options we usually use », was surprised Sale. " I rode the hard race tire all day and only used the softer at the end to set the best times. But I didn't feel any grip and the turn was difficult ».
He ends his assessment of the day thus: “ I have to believe it. Here at Phillip Island, I know it will be a difficult and complicated weekend. Alvaro Bautista is at an incredible level and is making history apart. We need to improve a lot to be competitive and have confidence which we need ". In short, it's not yet in the pocket in the land of the kangaroos for the Greens.
WSBK Test Phillip Island J1 Final: times
Credit classification wsbk.com
