Rea ‘up to speed’ at Suzuka

Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea was in action in Japan this week as preparations continued for next month’s Suzuka 8-hours Endurance race.

The six-time WorldSBK Champion has been on the top step at the iconic Japanese venue twice in recent years - before the pandemic curtailed the past two outings - but this will be the first year he partners current Superbike teammate Alex Lowes.

Two days of testing at the figure-of-eight circuit saw numerous members of KRT/Provec technical and management staff join forces with their Japan-based KMC colleagues as Rea completed both night and day simulations.

“First and foremost it is always nice to be back in Japan and ride the Ninja ZX-10RR in Endurance format,” Rea said as the test concluded. “It is very different from the WorldSBK bike, especially in electronics, fuel mapping strategy and tyres.

“The circuit is quite new so the first day was a bit of a learning process to get back up to speed. Step-by-step I felt better and better. Every run we were able to do I was going faster, so we will keep the link towards race weekend.

“It is really nice to have the KRT team there and also to share the garage with Alex. It is really nice, everything is calm, everybody knows each other. I am looking forward to going back in a few weeks to see all the fans and really absorb the race atmosphere.

“It is one of the biggest challenges of the season. I am excited about it, especially after this positive test.”