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Jonathan Rea takes a second Imola podium
Jonathan Rea (KRT) stood on the podium in Italy for a second time after taking third place in Race Two at Imola, in a contest that was shortened by four laps because of extreme temperatures affecting the local area. Alex Lowes (KRT) had a Sunday best result of seventh in the morning’s Superpole Race.
Rea came within 0.2 seconds of his second Imola podium (following on from his third place success in Race One on Saturday) but he could not quite get past early race leader Andrea Locatelli at the end. Jonathan was fourth across the line, scoring strong championship points from a third row starting spot.
Lowes finished seventh in the Superpole race, having started 11th on the grid and launching from the fourth row.
After advice from the championship’s medical authorities and consultation with the riders WorldSBK Race Two was reduced to 15 laps, rather than the planned 19. The heatwave that had affected the whole weekend intensified again on Sunday, with official air temperatures reaching 37°C.
Rea would take his chance to fight for the podium again in the final Imola race and eventually placed third, just losing the required pace to sustain a challenge to Axel Bassani for second in the final laps. Jonathan’s latest podium finish saw him narrow the gap to third place to just seven points, after seven of the 12 championship rounds have now been completed.
Seventh place in the earlier Superpole race saw Alex starting one row closer to pole position for Race Two. He was unlucky to fall in the second and slightly longer Sunday race at Imola, especially after running in fifth place with a high degree of confidence after some set-up changes were made to his machine.
In the overall championship Rea is fourth and Lowes eighth.
The next round of the series will take place at the Autodrom Most, in the Czech Republic, between 28 and 30 July. After that there will be a long summer break, with action restarting in France at Magny Cours between September 8-10.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “The Superpole Race seemed like our best chance to do a good job. But starting from seventh was not the best way to give yourself the best opportunity. I did make a good start but just didn’t have the pace. I was fighting with Locatelli and he was not making any mistakes, doing a really good job. There was a point in Race Two when I thought maybe we could fight a little bit more, to be honest. I wasn’t sure of Axel Bassani’s tyre choice but I was quite sure the option for our bike was good. We knew most of the competitors would be on the SCX. When I was there after a few laps I thought, ‘maybe I have hit the jackpot with this tyre? Maybe this could be for me?’ But at around three-quarters of race distance I really struggled with the front of the bike and also changing direction. In the first part of corner exits, I was just pushing the tyre too much, especially through turns two and three. The riders ahead were accelerating off the corners a little bit better. But I am happy. Happy with our points haul and this was probably our best weekend of the season, with two podiums in the long races.”
Alex Lowes, stated: “Overall, I am happy with the improvements we made today. The track conditions were really hot, which means the grip is reduced. We made some changes on the bike to try to give me a bit more feeling, and help getting the bike stopped. In morning warm-up and in the Superpole Race I was really happy with the step we had made. I was looking for a little bit of a better feeling for Race Two. After struggling so much in Race One, today we used the SCX tyre. It was moving quite a lot on the edge but my performance overall in the race was so much better so it is so frustrating to finish with a crash at Turn Seven. A first gear, small crash. The improvements that the team made on the bike were really big compared to yesterday. So it is such a shame not to be able to take the positives from the second race. But we did our best and I am already looking forward to Most in a couple of weeks. I want to offer a massive thank you to all in the team because when it is red hot like this it is hot for everybody, not just the riders. They always have my thanks but in these extreme conditions it’s a special thanks to everyone at KRT and Kawasaki.”
Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) ended his Sunday of racing at Imola with a 20th and then a DNF after crashing at Turn 12.
Isaac Vinales (TPR by Vinales Racing Kawasaki) placed 22nd in the Superpole Race and was another to crash out at Turn 12. Oliver König (Orelac Racing Movisio Kawasaki) was 23rd and then he ran off track in Race Two, eventually retiring from the race with a technical problem.
2023 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics
Jonathan Rea: World Champion 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020
2023: Races 21, Wins 0, Podiums 8, Superpoles 1
Career Race Wins: 118 (103 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 253 (211 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 41 (37 for Kawasaki)
Alex Lowes:
2023: Races: 21, 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: 177 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Podiums: 532 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 106 – second overall