Action kicked off on Sunday in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) topping the 15-minute Warm Up session ahead of teammate Alex Lowes, with little to separate the pair at the Circuito San Juan Villicum for the Motul Argentinean Round. There were 12 riders within a second of Rea’s fastest time in Warm Up to set up a stunning Sunday in South America.

Rea posted a 1’37.141s to top the session as he looks to finish on the top step of the podium on Sunday and end his win drought, with teammate Lowes in second place. Lowes set a 1’37.148s in Warm Up to finish just 0.007s behind Rea. The two teammates had different strategies in Warm Up, with Rea completing two stints, his best time coming in the first, while Lowe did one long stint. Reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was third as he looks to bounce back from his Race 1 crash, lapping around two tenths slower than Rea.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) continued his strong form with fourth in the 15-minute session, posting a 1’37.636s as he looks to add more podiums to his tally on Sunday in Argentina, while Race 1 winner and Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fifth and around six tenths down on Rea’s lap time. Spanish rider Iker Lecuona (Team HRC), who took his best full-length race result since his Assen podium yesterday, rounded out the top six.

All five manufacturers were inside the top seven in Warm Up as Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took seventh place, ahead of former teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in eighth with the pair separated by just 0.020s at the end of the session. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) took ninth place after setting a 1’38.000s exactly as he looks to respond after losing positions in Race 1 when he ran wide, while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) rounded out the top ten.

It was a disappointing start to Sunday for Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) with the Argentinean rider bringing his Honda machine into the pits when he had a technical issue at Turn 16 after setting only one lap time in the 15-minute session although he was able to re-join the session with three minutes left.

The top six from WorldSBK Warm Up, full results here:

1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’37.141s

2. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.007s

3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +0.205s

4. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +0.495s

5. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.574s

6. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +0.642s

Watch the Tissot Superpole Race from Argentina at 12:00 Local Time (GMT-3) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!