As 11 MOTUL Superbike World Championship riders from seven teams made their way back to Spain for a two-day test at MotorLand Aragon, it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who topped the morning running of day one as he headed the field by more than a tenth as riders looked to prepare for the upcoming Aragon double-header. Track temperatures pushed close to 50°c as the sun beat down on the track, giving teams and riders experience hot conditions before two Rounds at Aragon.

Rea was one of the riders to wait a few minutes before heading out on track before posting the fastest time of the morning with a 1’50.692, with Rea was focussing on setup ahead of the next two WorldSBK Rounds taking place at MotorLand Aragon. His KRT teammate, Alex Lowes, finished the morning in fifth as he and the team looked to improve the ZX-10RR for the British rider, who moved to Kawasaki for the 2020 season and has been confirmed for 2021.

Haslam was the second rider to head out on track as the green flag was waved as everyone looked to gain valuable data, Haslam posting a 1’50.841s as he finished second in the timesheets, behind five-time Champion Rea. Honda showed strong pace in the early stages of the test with Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) fourth in the morning running. Both Rea and Haslam were the only riders in the 1’50 bracket in the morning running.

Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was third in the first part of running, less than two tenths off Haslam’s pace. His teammate, Chaz Davies, was classified in sixth place after focusing on the bike’s setup with a view to the rest of the season, not just the upcoming races at MotorLand Aragon.

PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official duo Michael van der Mark and Toprak Razgatlioglu were seventh and eighth respectively with the team looking for some setup changes to help assist in the heat as well as the upcoming double header. Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Kawasaki VerdNatura) was ninth in the morning as the Chilean rider put a focus onto race pace.

Roman Ramos (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) was classified tenth as he returned to WorldSBK action, standing in for the injured Sandro Cortese; the team scheduled to test at MotorLand Aragon before Cortese’s crash. Ramos was using the test as a “shakedown” as he adjusted to new tyres and suspension onboard the Kawasaki ZX-10RR. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) rounded out the field of WorldSBK riders with 11^th place in the early running, just 0.022s

FIM Supersport World Championship points leader Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) was also present at the circuit, the only rider from WorldSSP to test as he lapped MotorLand Aragon in 1’55.921 as the Italian tried out new parts on the bike to help understand the feeling.

The top six following morning running at MotorLand Aragon:

1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) +0.149
3. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.329
4. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) +0.444
5. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.446
6. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +0.574

You can follow the WorldSBK action throughout 2020 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!