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Jonathan Rea Renews Multi-Year WorldSBK Deal with Kawasaki

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In a move that surprised no one today, Jonathan Rea has inked another multi-year deal with Kawasaki in the WorldSBK Championship.

The news was expected as Rea has been unstoppable ever since he joined the Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT) in 2015, which has led to a record-breaking five WorldSBK titles in a row for the Northern Irishman.

One of the most talented riders on any track right now, Rea is the man to beat in the production-based paddock, and KRT has honed the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR into an absolute weapon for its riders.

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Bikes

Watch The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R Get Its First Official Outing

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The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R is a bike that we are eagerly looking forward to, here at Asphalt & Rubber, which might seem strange if you don’t know too much about the quarter-liter sport bike.

But with a 250cc displacement coming from its inline-four engine, which revs to 17,000 rpm…well, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R isn’t your typical mundane small-displacement affair.

Team Green is slowly building the hype machine for this model, and to help get us in the mood, we have a short video of WorldSBK racers Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes putting the ZX-25R through its paces at the Jerez circuit.

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Racing

Talking with Ana Carrasco About Becoming a Champion

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Ana Carrasco World Champion

In part one of our feature with former WorldSSP300 world champion Ana Carrasco, based on interviews with Carrasco by Israeli journalist and TV commentator Tammy Gorali, Carrasco spoke at some length about how becoming the first female rider to win an individual motorcycle road racing world championship had changed her life, and the effect it had on the wider world, both inside and outside of motorcycle racing.

She discussed at great length with Tammy Gorali about what it means to be a woman racer, and a woman winning a championship.

In the second part of the feature, Ana Carrasco talks about her career as a rider, what her plans are, and what she would like to do in the future.

She discusses her relationship with the team, and the bond she has developed with reigning five-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea.

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Podcast

Paddock Pass Podcast #120 – WorldSBK at Argentina

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Episode 120 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is a WorldSBK show, as the production championship comes to us from Argentina.

As such, this means that we see Steve English joined by Gordon Ritchie on the mics, as they are our World Superbike reporting duo for the 2019 season.

Recording straight from trackside at the Argentinean track, the guys give some conversation about the on-track action at San Juan, including the issues with the track surface.

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Racing

FIM Changes Suzuka 8-Hours Result, Declares Kawasaki the Winner

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As expected, the result of the 2019 Suzuka 8-Hours was decided well after the podium ceremony for the Yamaha Factory Racing Team, with the factory Kawasaki team protesting Race Direction’s interpretation of the rulebook.

Agreeing with the Kawasaki Racing Team’s reading, the FIM concluded that because the race ended on a red flag, the results should be counted from the first full lap before the incident, which had KRT leading by a comfortable margin. 

This overrules Race Direction’s opinion that KRT failed to return to the pits five minutes after the race ended, which saw the Kawasaki team declared a non-finisher, and thus off the podium box.

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A&R Pro

Digging Deep Enough to Win, The Racer’s Mentality

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There is no challenge like Buriram on the WorldSBK calendar. It is the hottest round of the year, and it places huge physical and mental demands on riders. With temperatures expected to be in the high 100°F’s, the sun and heat will sap the power from riders.

Leon Camier has described racing in those conditions as “brutal” in the past and he’s not wrong. To get an idea of what the riders will go through this weekend, try sitting in a sauna for 30 minutes and then imagine doing that while your heart is racing and you’re wearing leathers and a helmet.

Before travelling to Thailand, I tried to put myself into a rider’s frame of mind and the results were interesting to say the least. We’ve all heard that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. That’s a lie. I didn’t die, but I definitely wasn’t strong afterwards!

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WSBK

Leon Haslam & Jonathan Rea, Partners in Kawasaki…For Now

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Kawasaki has ushered in a new era for its WorldSBK program, as the Japanese brand continues to be the team to beat.

For 2019, the Provec Racing run operation has cut ties with Tom Sykes and brought Leon Haslam back to the world stage to partner Jonathan Rea.

After four years of tension spilling over in the garage between two world champions, there is a hope that Haslam – the reigning British Superbike champion – can finally bring harmony between both sides of the garage.

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WSBK

Tuesday WorldSBK Summary at the Jerez Test: Rea Still Reigns, Ducati Makes Progress, Yamaha’s Small Steps with the Rear

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And so the season ends for WorldSBK. The weather finally behaved at Jerez, and the four WorldSBK teams and three WorldSSP teams got a full day of testing in at Jerez.

Or rather, nearly a full day of testing: the track opened at 10am, but the riders didn’t go out for about 45 minutes, as cold track temperatures made it a perilous undertaking in those early minutes.

But the sun soon did its work, heated the asphalt, and away they went.

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WSBK

Monday WorldSBK Summary at the Jerez Test: Ducati’s V4, Yamaha’s Need for Speed, & Kawasaki as Fast as Ever

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Three factories and eight WorldSBK riders turned up at Jerez on Monday, Ducati bringing their brand new Panigale V4R, but at the end, Jonathan Rea was fastest. Plus ça change.

All eyes were on the Ducati garage, and Alvaro Bautista’s first day on the Panigale V4 R. “First day at school” was how the Spaniard characterized it, taking some time to adapt to the bike. It was quite a switch from the Desmosedici he had been riding in MotoGP, the bike having a lot less power.

But, the V4 engine still has plenty, rival teams complaining that the Ducati was 10km/h faster than the others at the Aragon test. Here, the difference was less, but the Panigale was still clearly quicker than the rivals. 

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WSBK

WorldSBK Villicum Debrief – A Race Recap from Argentina

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WorldSBK’s South American adventure saw the history books once again rewritten by Jonathan Rea with the Northern Irishman claiming a tenth consecutive victory.

The world champion claimed a comfortable win on Saturday, the series first ever race in Argentina, but after weekend of cleaning a dirty and dusty track it was the temperature that caused problems on Sunday.

With over 110F temperatures on the asphalt, it was as slick a surface as many riders could remember with overnight rain also washing away any rubber that had been put down on the surface. It was easy to make a mistake, and coming from the third row of the grid, Rea certainly made his fair share in the early laps.

Once on clear track however, he was imperious, and comfortably the fastest man on track. He used this advantage to charge down Xavi Fores, and claim a historic double that broke the long-standing record of Colin Edwards (2002) and Neil Hodgson (2003) for most consecutive victories in WorldSBK.

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