KRT rider Jonathan Rea will have a real opportunity to lift the 2015 FIM Superbike World Championship trophy at the forthcoming Jerez de la Frontera round of the championship, in the home country for the bulk of the Kawasaki Racing Team staff members. Jonathan currently enjoys a 144-point championship lead, with a maximum of 150 points for any rider to play for now. Fellow KRT rider and 2013 world champion Tom Sykes will also be out to win more races to add to his total of three so far in 2015.

Rea was close to winning the title last time out in Sepang in early August, before the start of a long summer break from race action. Jonathan needs just six points now to make sure of the title as no matter how many races his only championship rival Chaz Davies (Ducati) wins from now on. With six more points Rea would have a greater total of wins after his 12th victory of 2015 in Sepang race one.

Sykes has great memories of Jerez and his own WorldSBK title win in 2013, as he wrapped up the series victory at the famous Spanish venue the first time the championship visited Jerez in the modern era.

So far in 2015 Rea has enjoyed his aforementioned 12 wins, 20 podiums (from 20 starts), two pole positions and eight fastest laps. Sykes, currently third in the championship and only 13 points from second place, has three 2015 season wins, ten podiums, four pole positions and five fastest laps.

Jerez is a popular testing venue and both Rea and Sykes have ridden there with the Ninja ZX-10R in the winter months. The 4.423km long circuit near the sherry capital of the world, Jerez, has a fabulous mix of different kinds of corners, no really long straights, but many challenges and connected sections of track for the riders to work with.

After race weekend Rea and Sykes will undertake an official test at Jerez for a day, alongside their WorldSBK peers. They will then continue on to the last European-based round of the year, at the always popular and well attended Magny Cours circuit in France on October 4, before the series finale at Losail in Qatar, on October 18th.



Jonathan Rea stated:

“It has been nice to have the summer break but after two weeks I just wanted to get going again. Especially after the momentum we have had throughout the season and falling just so short of actually winning the championship in Sepang. It has been a shame to have to wait seven weeks to get back on the bike but it has been nice to hang out at home, be with my family and ride my KX450F motocross bike quite a lot. Now I am ready to get back on my race bike. We had a good winter test at Jerez. I felt really good straight away with the Ninja ZX-10R in the January sessions and we have further improved the bike. We have been able to take the package pretty much everywhere this year and be competitive. Together with all the guys in the team we have worked so hard for this moment, so we will do our very best throughout Friday and Saturday to give us a package that we can fight for a race win with.”

Tom Sykes stated:

“I am very much looking forward to getting back to riding. It has been an incredibly long lay off, a bit too long, but it has been great for my family life. Now I am very excited to go back to the track. I am also excited to carry on working on getting a better package. I have spoken to my crew chief Marcel a number of times and requested a few little personal touches, little things the would help me out. I am going to Jerez and looking forward to it. Then we have a test session on Monday after the race as well to continue our refinement of the Ninja package.”


David Salom (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) and his fellow Spanish rider Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) will continue their battle for supremacy in the midfield at their latest home round, with Ramos currently 13th overall and Salom 15th.