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The official race report service of Kawasaki Racing Team.

12 Maj 2019

Rea Doubles Up Before Rain Stops Play

Jonathan Rea added to his Saturday race win with another decisive victory in the ten-lap Tissot-Superpole race today. Leon Haslam battled hard once again and was sixth. Persistent heavy rain caused the cancellation of all further track action after the WorldSSP race had been completed, hence the scheduled final Imola WorldSBK race did not take place.

The Autodromo Nazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola provided another race winning chance for four times champion Rea, but only one opportunity, due to the decision to stop all further track action after the weather conditions turned.
 
Rea took his chance to win on Sunday in both hands and finished 2.141 seconds ahead of Chaz Davies. He led across the line every lap, as he had done on Saturday, and took his tally of WorldSBK race wins at Imola to nine.
 
After his breakthrough win on Saturday, Rea’s victory today also netted him more points and he reduced the previous advantage of championship leader Alvaro Bautista, who finished third in the Superpole race.
 
Haslam found some of the same issues today that he had under braking on Saturday, but worked hard to finish sixth and score more championship points.
 
In the championship standings Jonathan, in second place overall, has reduced the championship lead to 43 points. Leon is fifth and has a total of 108 points after five rounds.
 
The Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto in Spain will be the venue for the next round of the championship, between 7 and 9 June, but first there will be a two-day test at Misano, between 29 and 30 May.
 
Jonathan Rea, stated: “It was a really positive weekend, to get my feeling with the bike here and be able to really get the maximum out of it. To pick up two race wins makes me really happy. I want to thank all the team for always believing and keeping on pushing. We never stopped believing that this weekend was a perfect opportunity for the chance to win. With our form here in the past, the way our bike works here and the way I ride - it was our chance. So we had to take it and I did, in both races. That was positive but unfortunately race three was cancelled because of the weather which came in. I completely understand and I am sure we will get our chance again.”
 
Leon Haslam, stated: “I had exactly the same problem as in race one. I could not pass, could not follow the guys. When I had a gap I could go really fast. Compared to Jonathan we are losing under braking but on a positive note, in cornering, in the exits, and how I adapted my style in other areas, we made good steps. Jonathan is very good here and I knew it was going to be a tough weekend trying to adapt my style with the things I have struggled with, but it was a lot harder than I expected. We will take a fifth and a sixth.”
 
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was again the top Independent team rider, scoring seventh place today in the ten-lap race. He is now eighth in the championship, mostly thanks to his Saturday race podium finish at Imola. Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) was 11th today, putting him in overall 11th place. Hector Barbera (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was 14th in the Superpole race, and is now 21st in the championship rankings after two rounds.
 
2019 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics
 
Jonathan Rea: World Champion 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018
2019: Races 13, Wins 2, Podiums 13, Superpoles 1
Career Race Wins: 73 (58 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 147 (105 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 17 (13 for Kawasaki)
 
Leon Haslam:
2019: Races: 13, Wins 0, Podiums 2, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 5 (0 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 41 (3 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 3 (0 for Kawasaki)
 
6 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Rea 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
4 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017 & 2018)
4 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018)
 
Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
Total Kawasaki Race Wins: 129 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Podiums: 396 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 82 – second overall
 
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