Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR) – the best WorldSBK pilot of all time and already 6-time world champion for the Greens. In the middle of the week he unfortunately had little luck with the weather together with his team and 3 Yamaha riders.

As previously feared – bad weather for the 2nd Aragon test

We had already expressed our fear two days ago and unfortunately the weather frogs were right. Only on the first day could Kawasaki Racing and 3 Yamaha riders test reasonably well in Aragon. Day two on April 22nd fell completely into the water and therefore the three WorldSBK teams decided not to ride in the wet. With the limitation of a maximum of 10 test days (which can also be used as half days) until the end of the season, they had almost no choice but to do without. Toprak Razgatlioglu stayed in Turkey, as we mentioned in the advance notice of this test. After he survived his quarantine in Barcelona, his team sent him home for mental relaxation. In exactly one month he will be on the track like everyone else at Motorland Aragon, when the Superbike World Championship season begins near the small town of Alcaniz.

Motorland Aragon from a bird’s eye view – WorldSBK used to use the old layout with the hairpin in the front right of the picture. However, as in MotoGP, the long double curve before the finish line has been in use for several years. The WorldSBK lap record is held by Jonathan Rea, who on April 21st, like earlier in Jerez, drove faster times this time than MotoGP test riders who were also present, including his former “archenemy” Cal Crutchlow in the service of Yamaha.

The 6-time world champion only drove for half a day
Jonathan Rea didn’t drive until the afternoon of the first day, but still did all of his test tasks, including a time attack at the end. Everything looks like his new weapon is working flawlessly in the fight to defend his title. The latest Ninja ZX-10RR from Kawasaki has changes to the engine, chassis and aerodynamics compared to the previous model. The speed range of the modified 4-cylinder engine has been shifted slightly upwards. In addition, the new Kawasaki has integrated front winglets, which generate considerable additional downforce at high speed. The KRT team with Rea and Lowes will do another final pre-season test at Motorland Aragon between May 4th and 5th.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki ZX-10RR) – like his team-mate from Northern Ireland, the Englishman was only able to use one day to prepare for this route in Aragon one month before the start of the season(© Kawasaki Racing Team).

Jonathan Rea to the short detour in Aragon: „ The test was really positive. Even if the track was a bit “green” because we had a lot of water on the surface and had to wait until noon to drive, we were able to confirm many things that we had already tried in Barcelona before. The course at Motorland is different, but it also has some similarities, which means the result is positive. These items were largely tied to the chassis, which means we could really start putting the package together. I could feel my rhythm getting better with each lap. We drove a lot, understood our full potential and prepared ourselves properly for the first race weekend in just a few weeks. When it became clear early on that the second day was going to be wet, at the end of the first day we decided on a one-off attack and I was able to drive pretty fast. We will now do more tests before the race. I feel very good with the bike and the team. Everyone has worked really hard, and I am now looking forward to coming back home and completing my preparations. “

Our photo from the roof of the pit building at Motorland Aragon with the dangerous curve 2 on the left and the third curve in the center of the picture. Because the right flank of the tire threatens to cool down before that, the former is well respected, if not feared, by many riders in MotoGP and WorldSBK. Last year, for example, MotoGP rookie Alex Marquez flew here in the race.

Alex Lowes: „Unfortunately it rained on the second day, so we had English weather in Spain! At one point it looked like it was going to rain both days, but luckily I did 73 laps on Wednesday and my shoulder felt a lot better than the last Montmelo tests. That’s really positive. On the technical side, we worked on some corner exit electronics and suspension settings to improve my feel in this area. It’s the same work as in Jerez and Barcelona, and we continued the same test plan in Aragon. Everything was really positive. I think this is the best I’ve felt since my first ride on the Ninja ZX-10RR. We have three or four things to tick off the list before the first race, but I’m really happy. We did a good job here with the guys and now I’m looking forward to relaxing and coming back fresh for the next test. “

Markus Reiterberger (BMW) Photographed by us after his start-up collision with Jonathan Rea in April 2019 in Aragon – fortunately the German was not seriously injured and Rea was able to continue. But at that time he had no chance against the lightning-fast Ducati Panigale V4R from Alvaro Bautista and Chaz Davies. This time, however, the Northern Irishman should have much better cards in hand when the season starts here on May 22, 2021, with the first race of the year.

The feedback from the only works Yamaha pilot

Andrea Locatelli – 59 laps: „Yesterday I had a strange feeling with the bike, possibly because of the condition of the track. It was very different from the last test, but in the end we kept working on the bike and were able to confirm some new parts for 2021. This was the main thing we had to work on for the time being, even if for me the level of performance yesterday wasn’t perfect. I’m sure that when we come back we have some room for improvement, and we will try to improve the feeling on the bike too. However, I am excited about this test as we were able to work on the data to confirm some developments in 2021, and now we will return with a clear focus on performance. “

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) – As a sensation at the WorldSSP, he won the title as a rookie in 2020 and was promoted directly to the Yamaha works team (© WorldSBK).

Andrew Pitt – Crew Chief of Locatelli: “It turned out we didn’t get much to drive, but luckily we got out for a full afternoon on Wednesdays. It seemed like track conditions had changed quite a bit between the two tests due to different temperatures and a lot of car tests. We left the first test here at Aragon very happy with the feeling and pretty positive for this next test, with the aim of refining the package a bit. We examined a lot of data with Andrea and together with our Öhlins technician Luca Federzoni to assess and examine areas in which he could improve. The afternoon unfortunately got a bit hectic, we tried to get as much done as possible – and due to the fact that Toprak wasn’t here, the responsibility for defining the last parts of the 2021 package was largely on Andrea’s shoulders. As a racing driver, he understandably wanted to improve his performance, and it’s a delicate balance, but we’ve worked through every item on the list for Yamaha and additional feedback for Pirelli. From that point of view, it was very constructive, even if we didn’t have the opportunity to focus on the pace. Our next test before the first race will be to give Andrea a competitive bike and improve his pace so that he can get to the first event full of confidence.“

WorldSBK 2001 Champion Troy Bayliss (right) and WSSP World champion Andrew Pitt photographed in front of the Imola pit area. As a former Yamaha driver, the man in green looks after Locatelli and, as this picture shows, he has the necessary qualifications with him. For more about the earlier years of WorldSBK, see our ever-growing and richly illustrated history (© WorldSBK).

WorldSBK Provisional Calendar

The overseas races are currently still very questionable, which is why Dorna is working hard to find alternatives in Europe. For the time being, however, we do not want to participate in any speculation.