Up until now, it's been the perfect weekened for Kawasaki, particularly for a certain Tom Sykes. The Huddersfield rider has scored big, taking pole position (his 34th) and track records in both practice and the race. He was letting nothing and nobody come between him and his 28th race win today. His second win of the season, after that scored in Race 2 in Buriram, was a very convincing one, that saw him cross the line 5.6 seconds ahead of his teammate Johnny Rea.
"I'm really pleased with how the race went. I really enjoyed riding the bike today." stated Sykes at the end of the race, before thanking his team for their hard work:"I'm so very grateful to my mechanics, from Marcel to Danilo, for all their hard work. Also their overtime. The fact that we were able to be consistent for the entire race was a great result." And now he prepares for Race 2: "The others are fast and we have to improve the bike in certain areas. We must do it, because they will also improve."
Jonathan Rea was satisfied with second place. A position that allows him to earn another 4 points over Chaz Davies, who finished behind him today: "I'm pleased because our main aim today was to earn more championship points. Perhaps the race strategy I went for was not the ideal one. In the opening laps I was perhaps a little too cautious." He was worried about the tyres, and whether the front would suffer from mid-race onwards. The new asphalt is 30% rougher than the Misano track and double that of Imola, both resurfaced in the past by the same Italian company: "Looking at the tyres in par fermé, I noticed that most of the wear was at the front. We have to improve the balance of the bike to try to reduce how much the front has to work".