Heading into the second half of the season sitting at the top of the riders championship, as well as the manufacturer’s, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) put in two solid days of testing around Lausitzring, ahead of Round Nine in Germany in three weeks time.

Reigning champion Rea used his time wisely around the 4.255km circuit, and was pleased with the results despite being rained off on the second day. Setting a clear plan over the two days in Germany, the Northern Irishman was able to test all aspects before the rain put a halt to proceedings on the second day. Lausitzring was a dramatic weekend for Rea in 2016, but heading there this year with a strong base setting, as well as championship lead he will be a tough man to beat from 18^th – 20^th August.

 “After last year it was very valuable to test here at the Lausitzring,” explains Rea. “We were able to do some functional tests for KHI and also evaluate some ideas for chassis and front suspension set up. The weather changed after lunch, which brought the curtain down on our test - but we knew it was coming. We were able to evaluate all the items in the plan before then thanks to Pere’s good planning. Yesterday we were also able to run a race simulation and it’s great to see that we have improved the overall base of the bike compared to last year.”

British team-mate Sykes, who sits in second in the championship standings also had a strong two days in Germany – at a circuit in which he finished second in the dry around last season. Happy with his lap times set, Sykes focused on the consistent setting he found which will be key to battling with his team-mate in August.

Heading into the ninth round focused and ready to race, the 31 year old was full of positivity:  “We tried out various items at this test and the feedback from the bike was good. We set strong lap times and found consistency. On standard race rubber I set a 1’36.7 after seven laps. I am happy with that because I think it was about equal to my previous Superpole lap time. We would have tested just a few more things on the final day but the rain came along again this afternoon and put a stop to that. Overall, it was a successful test at the Lausitzring. I think we are ready to race on this circuit, and to race at a high level as well.”

Follow Kawasaki Racing Team’s progress in the German Round all on WorldSBK.com with the WorldSBK VideoPass, and get yourself geared up for the second half of the season with the races from 2017 so far.