Jonathan Rea on Kawasaki ZX-10RR – on Friday noticeably reticent by his standards, but points are known to only be awarded on Saturday (© Kawasaki Racing Team).

Rider voices for the first day of WorldSBK in Aragon

Alvaro Bautista – HRC Honda, combined on P8: “The season has finally started, and I’m glad that I felt good physically today. In the first run we tried the new Pirelli front tire, which I was never able to test over the winter. It has a lot of positive aspects, especially in terms of stability I think. We also made some adjustments to the electronics to better suit track conditions. It was a little cooler in FP1 than a few weeks ago in the morning and the feeling with the bike was good. This afternoon the temperature was much higher which made it harder to find the same feeling I had in the morning. We still tried to adapt the setup to these conditions as the races will likely take place at similar temperatures. The forecast is currently that it could be cooler again. So it might be a little difficult to prepare well, but of course it’s the same for everyone. I’m satisfied with our first day and with my feeling on the Honda. We work hard and have more ideas for tomorrow. We will try to take one more step and start the season with a good result. “

Leon Haslam – HRC Honda, combined on P10: “Today did not go badly. Good lap times were quite easy to achieve at first, although we lost a little time on the tires while other drivers took a small step up. But I think we found a better consistency. The grip was not as good as in the last tests. But we have to adapt to this situation, just like everyone else, of course, in order to find the right stability. But the lap times are not far any more, and I think conditions could be cooler tomorrow and Sunday which could help. We’ll see what tomorrow and Sunday brings, and we’ll continue to work hard to be as prepared as possible for the first races of the season. “

Leon Haslam on the Honda CBR-1000RR-R SP Fireblade (© HRC Honda).

Alex Lowes – KRT Kawasaki, combined on P4: „We did all the work here in the tests, so we didn’t change too much on the bike today. That afternoon the track temperature was higher, and I was just trying to drive and drive. In the hotter conditions, I didn’t do that many laps on the bike because it was always cold in the winter tests. So I don’t have a lot of experience and just fell by the wayside and tried to be a little limber to understand the ninja a little better in these conditions. I didn’t do more. It looks like tomorrow will be a little cooler again. We have a pretty good setup for the bike “

Alex Lowes on Kawasaki ZX-10RR – the Englishman was fastest of the Greens on the first day in Aragon, but only just ahead of Rea (© Kawasaki Racing Team).

Jonathan Rea – KRT Kawasaki, combined on P5: „A little like on the first day of school, but not the same nerve strain as on Phillip Island, until the first round. Aragon is a completely normal track for us as we do a lot of tests here. It’s just nice to get started. Today the track was a bit greasy, not so much rubber and high temperatures, so it was a bit different from the tests. We are currently working on it and understand the setup a little. We try not to get too carried away because the temperature seems to drop a little on Saturday. The five or ten degree window is huge. For the first day, I feel fine on the bike. But I think there is a lot that can be improved for these kinds of circumstances. We will see what conditions we have tomorrow, and we will be ready to respond accordingly. “

Jonathan Rea in front of Tom Sykes in 2016 on the Kawasaki ZX-10R – this time the two are on very different bikes and Tom’s was given a very questionable privilege by the FIM, but nevertheless the man from Huddersfield is not one of the favourites for a podium at the weekend, quite different as the reigning world champion.

The combined ranking from Friday

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Time FP1, FP2, (Gap, previous), Laps, Average, LL
1 54 T. RAZGATLIOGLU TUR Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha YZF R1 1’49.952 1’51.202 1’49.952 166,229 37
2 7 C. DAVIES GBR Team GoEleven Ducati Panigale V4 R IND 1’50.260 1’50.400 1’50.260 0.308 0.308 165,765 31
3 31 G. GERLOFF USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 IND 1’50.442 1’51.238 1’50.442 0.490 0.182 165,491 34
4 22 A. LOWES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki ZX-10RR 1’50.498 1’51.037 1’50.498 0.546 0.056 165,408 33
5 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki ZX-10RR 1’50.834 1’50.690 1’50.690 0.738 0.192 165,121 28
6 21 M. RINALDI ITA Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Ducati Panigale V4 R 1’50.741 1’51.179 1’50.741 0.789 0.051 165,045 34
7 45 S. REDDING GBR Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Ducati Panigale V4 R 1’51.203 1’50.780 1’50.780 0.828 0.039 164,986 36
8 19 A. BAUTISTA ESP Team HRC Honda CBR1000 RR-R 1’51.049 1’50.814 1’50.814 0.862 0.034 164,936 33
9 66 T. SYKES GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW M 1000 RR 1’50.842 1’52.061 1’50.842 0.890 0.028 164,894 27
10 91 L. HASLAM GBR Team HRC Honda CBR1000 RR-R 1’50.907 1’51.000 1’50.907 0.955 0.065 164,798 29
11 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW M 1000 RR 1’50.966 1’52.377 1’50.966 1.014 0.059 164,710 19
12 47 A. BASSANI ITA Motocorsa Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R IND 1’51.584 1’51.231 1’51.231 1.279 0.265 164,318 37
13 53 T. RABAT ESP Barni Racing Team Ducati Panigale V4 R IND 1’51.245 1’52.306 1’51.245 1.293 0.014 164,297 35
14 94 J. FOLGER GER Bonovo MGM Racing BMW M 1000 RR IND 1’51.285 1’52.492 1’51.285 1.333 0.040 164,238 24
15 3 K. NOZANE JPN GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 IND 1’51.376 1’52.238 1’51.376 1.424 0.091 164,104 33
16 50 E. LAVERTY IRL RC Squadra Corse BMW M 1000 RR IND 1’51.428 1’51.981 1’51.428 1.476 0.052 164,027 25
17 55 A. LOCATELLI ITA Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha YZF R1 1’51.902 1’51.781 1’51.781 1.829 0.353 163,509 38
18 23 C. PONSSON FRA Alstare Yamaha Yamaha YZF R1 IND 1’51.952 1’53.594 1’51.952 2.000 0.171 163,259 29
19 32 I. VINALES ESP Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 1’52.139 1’52.099 1’52.099 2.147 0.147 163,045 30
20 44 L. MAHIAS FRA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 1’52.290 1’52.444 1’52.290 2.338 0.191 162,768 35
21 36 L. MERCADO ARG MIE Racing Honda Racing Honda CBR1000 RR-R IND 1’55.769 1’54.965 1’54.965 5.013 2.675 158,981 20
22 84 L. CRESSON BEL TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 1’57.673 1’55.572 1’55.572 5.620 0.607 158,146 25
23 76 S. CAVALIERI ITA TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 1’56.076 1’55.741 1’55.741 5.789 0.169 157,915 21

The questionable revelation limit of the FIM with the “Kawasaki castration”

The hair-raising injustice immediately catches the eye, even without the yellow colour. The Ducati Panigale V4R is allowed to turn a full 1500 rpm higher than the new Kawasaki ZX-10RR, it is like a bad joke what the FIM has just allowed itself to do with it.

Motorland Aragon route map

WorldSBK has been racing in Aragon since 2011 and the first win was won by Marco Melandri on a Yamaha, while Aprilia ace Max Biaggi won the second run. The following year, the two Italians won again, but in reverse order and Melandri on a BMW. In the following two years it was first Davies and then Sykes on Kawasaki, which each took a double victory.

Schedule for the first race weekend of 2021

Unless otherwise mentioned, applies to all images (© WorldSBK).