Jonathan Rea finishes Jerez WorldSBK test fastest from team-mate Alex Lowes

Six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea set the fastest overall time of the two-day Jerez test, while Team HRC elected to sit-out Thursday’s action. 

Rea, who chose not to ride on day-one and instead save one of his ten allocated test days, completed just a half day alongside team-mate Alex Lowes - meaning Rea still has 9.5 days of testing allowed this year. . 

Lowes was quickest on day-one as he completed a full day more worth of running than Rea, while Puccetti Kawasaki rider Lucas Mahias did the same. 

Once Rea headed out, which took place around 13:00pm local time, it took the 2021 series runner-up just five laps to go quicker than Lowes’ best effort from day-one. 

Rea ultimately finished the test with a time of 1:38.851s which was over 1.2 seconds quicker than Lowes. 

With Team HRC riders Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona choosing not to ride on the second day, it meant an already private test felt even more private for Kawasaki who represented the only three riders in action. 

Third fastest after making his on-track return for the first time in nearly four months was Mahias. Unlike the two KRT riders who spent just today’s afternoon on-track, the Frenchman concluded his running this morning - finishing a further 1.5 seconds down on Rea. 

Rea completed the most laps (61) which was two more than Lowes. As he stated after day-one, Lowes’ testing plan shifted towards finding rear improvements to his ZX10-RR machine with corner exit being the primary focus. 

In WorldSSP MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider Niki Tuuli finished fastest for the second consecutive day, while Can Oncu managed to keep second ahead of mentor and former five-time Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu who was testing Kawasaki’s new braking system.

Former Moto2 rider and 2022 WorldSSP rookie Yari Montella was fourth quickest for Puccetti Kawasaki ahead of fellow series debutants Ben Currie and Jeffrey Buis.