WorldSBK Aragon: Rea pleased with chassis, electronics need ‘work’

There was a lot of work done by Kawasaki’s factory WorldSBK team in the winter, especially with suspension partners Showa.

But with Bautista away and clear in the final two Aragon races, was there anything Kawasaki has worked on that still needs more?

“A little bit of work in some electronic items,” said lead rider Jonathan Rea. “Just electronics stuff. Honestly, chassis-wise, the bike is good. I think you can see from the TV, it’s really behaving.

“We’re using the tyre quite well. We need to work a little bit on the pace because I think once we have a little bit of longevity now in the tyre, I think I’ve lost a little bit of push to really make the lap time work, like in Superpole. So, we might have to visit a ‘Superpole setting’ because when you’re racing with these guys, track position is everything.”

The Kawasaki is, of course, a much older package than most other bikes. Its relatively long-stroke engine architecture means it will not do certain things as well as the other bikes, but with the tools and personnel on hand for KRT it is remarkable what Rea and his ‘old’ bike can still do in real race situations.

Next up for Rea is Assen, his favourite track, maybe only rivalled by Portimao.

“I expect just to do my best again,” said Rea of his forthcoming Dutch adventure. “Of course, I expect to be strong, but you never know how strong. The level is really good now. Both Alvaro and Toprak had really strong weekends.”

Conditions may well be anything from rain to comparatively pleasant Dutch spring weather, but as Rea alluded to earlier in the weekend his tyre choices there may well be completely determined by the track temperatures in dry conditions - maybe more than any other manufacturer. “I hope my bike works well from