SBK, Rea: the break with my motorhome has recharged me

The KRT team leaves for Misano with its two factory riders Johnny Rea and Tom Sykes having had very different experiences at the recent Californian round: while the Northern Irish rider won, dominating the races, the Englishman struggled, battling for a position far from the podium.

For now, if we look at the championship standings, it's Rea who continues to make the difference with the factory ZX10RR, while Tom lies fourth in the classification, his worst position in all his years riding the Akashi bike.

Misano is a track that has brought great results for both the Provec riders though, 2017 aside, when Rea was involuntarily caught up in an incident with Chaz Davies; apart from that, the Cannibal won his first race in 2009 with the Honda at Misano, going on to win 3 more in recent years: “Misano is one of my favourite races of the season and this year we planned a holiday before the race with my family, staying on the beach with our motor home. It sets the weekend up perfectly as I feel recharged for the last race before the summer break. The circuit is pretty straightforward and has a mix of everything. Although it’s flat, it’s still a challenge to find a compromise with set up, so we will work hard on Friday to make sure we can be competitive. It’s important to strengthen our position in the championship. Our target is to keep working the way we have in the previous races and maximise our potential.”

Sykes won race 1 at Misano last year, assisted by the crashes of others. Tom believes he would have triumphed even without outside help, something he hopes to prove this time around: “Misano is a beautiful venue with fantastic fans. It is great just to be part of the whole atmosphere and environment. The fans do enjoy themselves! When I get there I will settle in with a nice Italian coffee and some seafood. I head there in the knowledge that we have good information to work with. The corners give it an interesting layout with a fast section that is unbelievable. The lap times are always close at Misano so you have to get technical and find the small differences that way.”

After the Misano weekend, the Superbikes will stop for their long summer break. Excluding those who will carry out private tests and/or participate in the Suzuka 8 Hours, teams will return to the track, at Portimao in Portugal, in mid-September.