Login

***Malcolm*** · 28-01-2015, 11:53 AM

Kawasaki Racing Team riders Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes made the very best use of two days of dry and sunny conditions to complete their final European pre-season preparations at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain, between 26 and 27 January.

With so many new technical regulations in the 2015 FIM Superbike World Championship, and previous winter tests having been affected by poor weather, the Jerez tests took on a special significance.

A welcome 25°C track temperature arrived in the afternoons at Jerez meaning both Rea and Sykes made real progress in the set-up of their Ninja ZX-10Rs. Each declared they were ready to head off to Australia for the final official tests in buoyant and confident mood.

Lap times at Jerez were fully competitive for each rider, in both race and qualifying set-ups, with Sykes posting a best of 1’39.694 and Rea a 1’39.745, each on a qualifying tyre. This is below the existing track best, despite more stringent technical rules that limit engine tuning in 2015.

Tom set around 85 laps on day one and 86 on the final day, and Rea did more than 80 on day one and over 70 on the final day.

The KRT riders and team will have their next track engagement during the first official test sessions at Phillip Island in Australia, on 16 and 17 February, before the opening round of the 14-round series on Sunday 22 February.

Tom Sykes:

“It has been a successful two days of testing and we have worked through a lot of variables, coming much closer to a base setting for the bike. In general I am very happy. We found more of our potential with the race tyre and the qualifying tyre and just did one final lap on each to understand the work we had done. That confirmed that we are headed in the right direction. The two last laps I did were quite relaxed, not expecting too much, and I saw some riders using more than one qualifying tyre - maybe even three. We are going to Phillip Island quite happy that we are focused on where we need to be and hopefully we will be fine-tuning in the glorious sunshine. It was important to have these two days of consistent weather and we did a lot of laps. The weather gave us a good stable test.”

Jonathan Rea:

“It was a good test and more so because we got dry track time. We were able to evaluate lots of things. I tried quite a lot of geometries and changing the balance of the bike quite a lot. We never found a big difference in lap time, even when we were radically changing the bike. That proves to us that the bike is working in quite a big window. We found a big step forward with the engine management and electronics on the afternoon of the second day and I was able to improve my lap time quite a bit. That filled me full of joy and confidence. I was able to do a race simulation at this test and I understood how the bike behaves when the tyre drops. I think we have the right tools in the garage to keep working and be in good shape when the lights go out at Phillip Island. At the end of the day we tried a qualifying tyre and it works well on this bike. It has been a busy and positive test.”

Marcel Duinker, Crew Chief for Tom Sykes, commented:

“With these kinds of rule changes, and with the weather we have had at previous tests, we would have liked to have some more days on track like this. That said, from the test plan we had going into winter all the test items have now been tested. Maybe 75% of this material was confirmed one way or another and we are ready for the next test at Phillip Island. We found a nice base bike for Tom and he is happy, making jokes and having fun with everyone afterwards, so I know we have reached our target. In lap times we were one of the quickest right now and over race distance we are in a very good position.”

Pere Riba, Crew Chief for Jonathan Rea, commented:

“We had a very positive test and Jonathan did lots of laps. We made him work hard because we lost some time in the previous tests because of weather. Race pace was very good. On day one we did a race simulation and Jonathan was very fast. Overall I am very pleased because we understand many things now and we go to Phillip Island with a much clearer view of our starting point and where to focus next. I am sure in PI we will make another step in understanding the whole package. Now I am really pleased because Jonathan is very professional and we are starting to understand him quite well. We are working for him 200% and all the staff are happy, including Jonathan. All together it seems to be going in the right way.”

Ichiro Yoda, KRT Senior Engineer, commented:

“We found some direction at this test and I feel we are OK. Both riders were happy about their pace. Because of the technical regulation changes we lost some top power for 2015 but we also found also something to compensate, in the chassis and some other things. Jerez does not make a big ‘request’ for top speed or top engine power, and we could improve in other areas. We had two days of very good weather and a track temperature more than 20 degrees. We found out a bit more about our latest engine management system. We have two good riders and their input helps us to add the final touches to the engine management system.”

Login
Username/Email:
Password:	Lost Password?
	Remember me