The penultimate round of the always exciting WorldSBK championship provided all 27 competing riders on day one with a finally dry FP2 session, after overnight rain had left some patches of water on the track surface at the beginning of FP1 in the morning. Only four riders failed to improve their best laps after FP1.
Bassani made progress through the opening day to end up seventh overall - having recorded exactly the same lap time - 1’39.966 - as the rider ranked one place behind him. He has tested at Jerez recently but found a very different level of grip from the 4.423km track surface through the whole opening day at Jerez.
After making set-up changes for FP2 Axel was inside the top positions and ended up seventh, and just 0.375 from the fastest Friday time.
After a technical glitch Lowes lost some track time in FP1 and had to work hard with his pit crew to try and find a strong package. Alex was happier with his set-up during his final Friday pit exit and is now ready to take on the third free practice session on Saturday morning, before Superpole qualifying begins.
Lowes was 0.576 seconds back on the fastest rider after a particularly competitive opening day when the top 16 riders qualified within 0.811 seconds of each other.
Alex Lowes, stated: “Friday was a difficult day. We encountered some technical issues in FP1 and missed some track time. So we were on the back foot a little bit this afternoon in FP2. We made some small changes and on the last pit exit I felt a bit better. That gives us a direction for tomorrow but we definitely have some work to do to get comfortable on this track with the conditions we have. Every time we visit this track the grip levels are different. We are missing some confidence. But we have FP3 on Saturday morning and then Superpole before we have to race. So we have some time and we have some work to do.”
Axel Bassani, stated: “This morning it was strange because the condition of the track was completely different from what we had during the test. So the feeling was not so good but in the afternoon I started to feel better again on the bike - really similar to during the test and we made some good laps. I am happy about the improvement we made. We still have to work hard because the level is really high. We are very near to second and third position, which means we are fast, but we have to push because everyone is pushing hard. We have to be focused and continue in this way.”
Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 18th fastest after the first two Free Practice sessions at Jerez.
KRT supplied Ninja ZX-10RR
2024 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics
Alex Lowes:
2024: Races: 32, Wins 2, Podiums 11, Superpoles 1
Career Race Wins: 4 (3 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 45 (25 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 2 (1 for Kawasaki)
Axel Bassani:
2024: Races: 33, Wins 0, Podiums 0, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 0 (0 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 6 (0 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 0 (0 for Kawasaki)
8 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Jonathan Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
6 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)
Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
Total Kawasaki Race Wins: 180 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Podiums: 553 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 109 – second overall
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