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Jonathan Rea, Tom Sykes and the entire Kawasaki Racing Team are on their way to Jerez in Spain for the penultimate round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship knowing this could be a truly pivotal weekend.  Rea leads the Championship and with Sykes in a firm second place, but both have opportunities to improve their championship prospects to a dramatic degree in Spain.

“From last year Jerez holds very special memories so I am excited to go back there,” said Rea. “We had a very productive mid-season test at Jerez, where we not only got to refine our current model, we also got to work on some items for 2017. It seems like we are in a good way with the bike in races and this is the first opportunity I have to win the championship this weekend. If we do a good job we can achieve our target of being World Champions again. That is in the back of my mind but also we have to be clever, because Tom and Chaz are riding really well and I am sure some others will also be strong in Jerez. So we need to be prepared to set-up the bike well with the team and then what will be will be. I’ll just try to go out and have two solid races. I have a lot of support coming from back home as well for this weekend.”

The Northern Irishman only needs to extend his current 48 point advantage by a couple of points and he can be crowned 2016 Champion, but Sykes will be looking to finish ahead of Rea in both races to ensure that the Championship goes down to the wire at the final round at the end of October in Qatar.

“I am looking forward to getting back out on the bike, I am just hoping that we can make something happen,” said Sykes. “That is all we need and then we are back into it. I am excited to go to Spain again. We definitely found some good speed in France and got back some form in wet conditions. Ultimately, the few wet races we have had this year cost me, as you have only got to look at the points difference in wet conditions. And everything is teeing up nicely in preparation for the following season. Where we are at now means we are definitely able to fight in the dry, and we are looking forward to this weekend.”

The 2016 Ninja ZX-10R has already scored 14 wins in its inaugural season in the hands of Rea and Sykes. As a result of this success, Jerez is also a potential Championship-winning venue for Kawasaki in the Manufacturers’ Award, if results favour the Japanese manufacturer. Currently Kawasaki has an advantage of 85 points over the closest competitor.

Whatever the outcome of the races on the 15^th and 16^th of October, Jerez is already a special venue for both KRT riders. It was the track at which they each secured their respective World Championship crowns with Kawasaki. Rea won the 2015 Championship during the Jerez weekend, two years after Sykes had won his Title there in 2013.