Jonathan Rea smashes Aragon WorldSBK lap record on new Kawasaki ZX-10RR

They say patience is a virtue but we are certainly twiddling our thumbs pretty firmly right now as we wait for the 2021 WorldSBK Championship kick off.

If this was ‘normal times’ the season would have kicked off in early March in Australia but of course these are anything but ‘normal’ times and after a few reshuffles we now have to wait until May 21-23 for the curtain raiser in Aragon. 

In the meantime, teams have been making the most of the unusually substantial off-season, which is proving especially handy for Kawasaki as it works on development of its new ZX-10RR, the weapon it hopes will power Jonathan Rea to an unprecedented seventh WorldSBK title.

The omens certainly look encouraging as Rea was in exceptional form during the latest three-day test at Aragon this week, his time of 1m 48.528secs representing a new lap record for the Ulsterman. As a reference, Rea set a 1m 48.767s lap for Superpole in the Teruel round at Aragon last year.

Indeed, it was a strong test all round for Kawasaki with Rea’s team-mate Alex Lowes slotting into second position, the pair racking up 333 laps of the Alcaniz circuit over the course of the three days. 

After being forced to miss the previous WorldSBK test following a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, Toprak Razgatlioglu was back on form aboard the Pata Yamaha with BRIXX R1, notching up 174 laps. A circuit that certainly didn’t suit the R1 last year, Razgatlioglu was third fastest but 1.2secs shy of Rea.

Eugene Laverty makes 2021 WorldSBK debut

Tom Sykes was fourth fastest aboard the factory BMW in what was a positive outing for the new M1000RR, while Chaz Davies was fifth best on the privateer Go Eleven Ducati in a test that was notable for the absence of the factory Aruba.it machines, the team deciding to test at Navarra instead.

Eugene Laverty made his first appearance of the off-season aboard the BMW M1000RR that will be campaigned with the WorldSSP graduating RC Squadra Corse, the Irishman managing the sixth best time - faster than Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad) in eighth and Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) in ninth.

Between them was Andrea Locatelli, the WorldSSP champion continuing what has been a steep learning curve on the second of the factory Yamahas, while Isaac Vinales brought up the rear in tenth on the Orelac Kawasaki.

Motorland Aragon WorldSBK Test [May 3-5] - Combined Results