Jonathan Rea Ends 2017 On A High

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki Racing Team completed the final winter test of the 2017 calendar year today at Jerez in Spain.  Testing alongside fellow WorldSBK riders and some of the top MotoGP competitors, Rea ended the week long test by setting the fastest time on track on the final day.

Riding the Ninja ZX-10RR under the 2018 technical regulations, that will restrict the engine to a 14,100 rpm rev limit, Jonathan managed to set a personal best lap time of 1’37.986 using a new Pirelli qualifying tyre, a full second under the current WorldSBK best lap time.

Jonathan rode for three days in all; Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He went back to the UK to collect his Member of the British Empire award (MBE) on Tuesday. He suffered a very fast fall on Wednesday but went out on track soon after on his spare bike to go just as fast as he had before.

With track action now completed for 2017, Jonathan will head to Japan and Thailand for activities with Kawasaki in the coming weeks before finally having a long term break over winter.

Testing will recommence at Jerez once more on 23rd and 24th Janaury 2018.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “This test is really important for us and it is always held at a good time of year. The weather has been consistent so we have been really lucky. There is a lot of rubber down on the track so we were able to evaluate all the components we had to test and we ticked everything in the box. We had to confirm chassis components and a swingarm, and we worked a lot with Showa suspension on Wednesday. When we had everything boxed off we were able to test some new tyres from Pirelli. We also used this test to try out a qualifying tyre and to see our true potential over one lap. I was surprised to be so fast and go into the 1’37s. Good results do not just happen; it has been a lot of hard work. I am very proud of the team as they understood the regulation changes. We were able to hit the ground running when we came here on Monday.