KRT draw a line under 2020
Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK riders Alex Lowes and Jonathan Rea made more positive steps with the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR at Motorland Aragon this week, despite weather conditions preventing them from riding on the final day of their planned two-day test. However, KRT states that a highly productive session was held on Wednesday with Lowes posting 66 laps and Rea 57 laps.
Rea finished off with the fastest single lap time, a 1’49.716, with Lowes very close with his 1’49.832 best.
Fog and poor track conditions rolled in on Thursday, meaning the KRT squad decided to not risk any more track action.
Jonathan Rea – 1m49.716s
“The first day was positive because we kept working with the items we had from the recent Jerez test. We really worked step-by-step on the engine side to understand all the feelings I have and all the different parameters we can explore with the new bike. We drew some really good conclusions. The lap time was very fast and I feel good on the bike – but I feel the potential is much better. We did not do any mileage on day two as the weather was full of fog all morning and afternoon so we packed up early, content and satisfied with our winter test programme so far. It has been really nice to ride so fast after Estoril and our first impressions of the new Ninja ZX-10RR are already positive. We have been fast, consistent and the feeling with the bike is getting better lap-by-lap. I am looking forward to some downtime now at home with my family. All the team, all the staff can go home and relax after a great season. I want to thank everybody for the huge effort at these winter tests, and this season during difficult times. We are going to recharge and get ready for the 2021 season.”
Alex Lowes – 1m49.832s
“Day one was pretty good for me. Of course the temperatures in Aragon are a little bit cold, so it took a while for the track to warm up so that we could get into some proper testing. With new parts to try we wanted to take the opportunity to confirm some of the things that we tried that were positive in Jerez. A couple of things that worked well last week have worked well this week, so from my side we are really happy. Two tracks, in two different temperature ranges, and we feel really good with the new bike. The guys worked very well and there is always a lot to do at testing, especially when you have got new parts, fitting stuff on-and-off the bike and so on, so thanks to them. Unfortunately the weather was not our friend today in Aragon but we had a good day yesterday, a good couple of days in Jerez last week, and we know the areas we are working on going into the 2021 season. We have had strong tests this side of the season and now we are looking forward to going home and relaxing a little bit.”
Having already confirmed some important items on day one the team and technical staff can now define the next steps to take with machine-set-up in 2021 which boasts a much more significant aero package in the new model, along with further ligthening of the engine internals and base geometry changes.
The next tests take are scheduled for January 2021.
