News

Just over a week after MotorLand Aragon hosted two days of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship pre-season testing action, seven riders will take to the Alcañiz venue to ramp up their preparations for the 2021 campaign ahead of the season starting at the same venue in just over one month. The track action will start at 10:00am LT (GMT+2) and end at 6:00pm LT on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) will be the factory Yamaha’s sole representative at the two-day Aragon test with the reigning WorldSSP Champion continuing to take forward steps every time he takes to the Yamaha YZF R1. Another two days of testing will prepare the Italian rookie, who has moved from WorldSSP into the factory Yamaha outfit, even further ahead of his maiden WorldSBK campaign.

American sensation Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and teammate Kohta Nozane will also be back at MotorLand for the two-day test, which takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Gerloff has been impressive with his pace throughout testing and will look to continue developing the R1 while Nozane, who has caught eyes with his riding style, will return to a venue he knows following last week’s test; so far, the reigning Japanese superbike champion has only been on new circuits whereas this week should provide a degree of familiarity for him.

The final Yamaha rider on track will be Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha) as the Frenchman continues to adjust to a new team and new surroundings following his switch from Aprilia to Yamaha machinery, with the Alstare Yamaha team being created for the 2021 campaign.

Reigning Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) continues his quest for his seventh consecutive Championship as his preparations ramp up with two days of action onboard the new Kawasaki ZX-10RR. Rea will be joined by teammate Alex Lowes with the British rider last out on track continuing his recovery from a shoulder injury. With the season beginning in just over a month, the test will be hugely important for all teams and riders at the track to help get ready for an exciting 2021 campaign.

KRT’s Team Manager, Guim Roda, explained the thought process behind planning a test at MotorLand Aragon: “We planned this particular test at MotorLand to start preparations for the first round of the Championship. Historically speaking, this track has been a difficult one because the Ducatis can be so strong there, so we have to really find perfection in Motorland to start the season with good results.

“The opening round is like a first exam, so we need to prepare really well to do the job properly. Of course, we are still working on the bike set-up. We had many days of rain during the winter tests so now we need to catch up with some things we are working on. Still we have a big margin to improve. The new Ninja ZX-10RR has many different details from last year so we have to organise and put them all together. This is one of the big jobs we still need to do before the start of the season. Alex is good in his physical fitness and I think Johnny is in a good moment right now. We have to see how they will make competition inside the team to improve things for them both, to put them ahead and beat the other manufacturers. Let’s see how we can manage and - if we have good weather - what kind of lap times we can set.”

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