After the first half of the FIM Superbike World Championship season has provided great success for the Kawasaki Racing Team pairing of Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes the second half begins with even greater optimism inside the KRT camp. The next round of the championship at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli takes place between 17th and 19th June, with Rea leading the championship and Sykes in overall second place.
The recent record of Sykes and Rea at the Italian track located close to the Adriatic coast is enviable. Sykes and Rea split race wins between them for KRT last season, while Sykes scored a double win in 2014. The Misano circuit was also the scene of Rea’s first ever WorldSBK race win, while riding for his previous team during the 2009 season.
Rea, the reigning world champion for KRT, has a career total of 34 wins and has scored a podium finish in every round so far in 2016. He has five race wins to his credit this year – more than any other single rider. Jonathan leads the current championship by 56 points from Tom after demonstrating an uncanny ability to take at least a top three finish when a race win has proved elusive.
Sykes, the 2013 World Champion, has scored 30 career race wins, with a stunning double at Donington Park taking place at the most recent round. Those were his third and fourth victories in 2016 and took him to second place in the championship rankings. Sykes has taken pole position during his two most recent visits to the 4.226km long Misano layout.
In addition to Sykes’ wins and Rea’s podiums at the most recent round in the UK the entire KRT squad tested for two days at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain recently, with strong results for both riders. These tests should be a major help to both Rea and Sykes as they head to Misano for the start of a long run-in to the final round at Losail in Qatar at the end of October.
資料提供 [ Kawasaki Motors Europe ]