In the first competitive action on Sunday 30 July at the 4.212km long Most circuit the ten-lap Tissot-Superpole race got underway in dry conditions, with Rea launching from the front row. Jonathan set a new all-time record of 400 WorldSBK race starts when he took part in the Superpole race, and lifted his total to 401 after competing in a full-distance Race Two.

Rea raced inside the top three throughout, going past early leader Axel Bassani after eventual race winner Toprak Razgatlioglu had taken the lead for the first time. Rea caught and passed Razgatlioglu into Turn 20 but was himself re-passed quickly afterwards and ended up just over a second behind the winner, but finishing ahead of championship leader Alvaro Bautista.

Lowes started the Superpole Race in 12th position and was eventually seventh after a long battle with front row starter Remy Gardner

Race Two proved to be a battle throughout for Rea, who was eventually third behind race winner Bautista and - in the final corner - Danilo Petrucci. Rea had to give ground to the determined Petrucci or risk a fall, which would have undone all the good work he and his team had done from a less than ideal start to race weekend.

Rea scooped up a trio of podium places at Most, thanks to win, a second and then finally a third place in race Two. He is now third in the championship, 24 points ahead of the next best rider Andrea Locatelli.

On Saturday Rea equalled the record number of FIM World Championship race wins across the various categories with 122 - a total he now shares with the legendary Giacomo Agostini. 

Lowes was unlucky to lose too much time in Race Two after another rider collided with him and sent him off the track for a time. He rode at a high pace after regaining the track but had to settle for 14th place. Alex is eighth in the championship after scoring points in each Most race.

A long summer break now begins for the whole WorldSBK paddock, with race action starting again at Magny Cours in France between 8-10 September. KRT will have a test at Motorland Aragon before then, on 29 and 30 August.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “In the second race today I thought I was through on Danilo Petrucci but I could feel him touching me, and any more aggression on my part would cause contact. If he is on the outside he has more risk, but if I had made contact I would have had as much chance to crash as he did. I was super-happy with my weekend so I didn’t need to do something stupid in the last corner. I think if we tally up the points for all three races we come up with the most overall. It was an incredible weekend for me and the team. We did so well in the pitbox not to get emotional or down because at one time we were miles away. Where we came from on Friday? I was nowhere. I didn’t feel good with the bike but we tried to make some improvements. The races worked out pretty well, first with the Intermediate tyre in Race One then in the Superpole Race earlier today I felt good battling with Toprak. That gave me some confidence that in the long race I could be OK. In Race Two I had not enough to go with Toprak and Alvaro. At the end of the race I was losing a lot of traction and the bike became quite physical to ride. It was all I could do to try to fend off Petrucci.”

Alex Lowes, stated: “I was happy with the Superpole Race this morning because we had some good pace. It was a shame to lose a position to Remy Gardner on the last lap because I had a nice battle with him through the race. But I felt my pace with the SC0 tyre was quite good. We kept the changes that we made for the Superpole Race and I had a reasonable start. On lap four, I think it was Petrucci who hit me really late in Turn Six. Because I was already at the apex I had no chance to react. That ruined my race from that point because I lost ten seconds and went back to 14th place. It is so tight now in WorldSBK and I didn’t have the pace to get towards the front groups. It is a shame because I felt I was riding better today than yesterday but the results don’t reflect it. I will take some time off now, spend time with the family and try to come back strongly in September.”

Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished the Superpole Race in 15th position, with Isaac Vinales (TPR by Vinales Racing Kawasaki) just one place behind. In Race Two Rabat was 18th and Vinales 17th.

Oliver König (Orelac Racing Movisio Kawasaki) was involved in the first corner melee in the Superpole Race, but got going again to finish 20th. He had a technical DNF in Race Two.

2023 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics

Jonathan Rea: World Champion 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020
2023: Races 24, Wins 1, Podiums 11, Superpoles 1
Career Race Wins: 119 (104 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 256 (214 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 41 (37 for Kawasaki)

Alex Lowes:
2023: Races: 24, Wins 0, Podiums 1, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 2 (1 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 34 (14 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 1 (0 for Kawasaki)

8 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
6 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)

Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
Total Kawasaki Race Wins: 178 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Podiums: 535 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 106 – second overall

                            #NinjaSpirit