The Phillip Island round inaugurated the 2023 World Superbike season, but if the year is new, the dominance is still the same. Alvaro Bautista was the master of the island, conquering the hat-trick and starting the championship with a clean sweep. The full spoils of Ducati left the opponents starving, who aimed to give battle but bowed to the excessive power of the Red and the Spaniard.
Jonathan Rea, who struggled to keep up with the defending champion and Toprak Razgatlioglu last year, seemed to have started the winter on the right foot, some modifications on his ZX-10RR had satisfied him. However, the Phillip Island round told a different story and the six-times champion fell off the podium in two out of three races. Only in the first heat was he able to grab a second position, settling for a seventh place in the Superpole Race and an eighth place in Race 2.
Alvaro Bautista, Aruba.it Racing Ducati, Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Now the world championship moves to Indonesia, where the second round of the season will take place. At Mandalika Jonathan Rea comes from behind and already pays for a significant gap from the leader Bautista, 31 points and third position in the championship. There’s no need to despair, of course, we’re only at the beginning of the year (and with one more round, Imola was made official just yesterday), but with a Bautista like this, mistakes aren’t allowed.
Rea is the first to be aware that he can’t afford to make a false step, considering how fit not only Bautista is, but the entire “Ducati armada”, which has monopolized the top positions at Phillip Island. It is well known that Australia often makes its own story, but this does not mean that the Kawasaki rider underestimates what he has seen. However, he leaves Indonesia with the desire to redeem himself.
“It’s nice to start the 2023 season on the two circuits where we finished the previous season,” explains Rea, who remains highly motivated. “The Superbike calendar this year is really good. We’ll try to capitalize on next weekend in Lombok with some good scores and we’re looking forward to understanding the year overall.Last year in Lombok I was feeling good until the latter part of the races when the risks I was taking made me overload the front. “stronger in Lombok than last year. We will go and do our best. Lombok will be more indicative for us than Phillip Island, as it is a circuit with a more normal layout, even if it will be very hot.”
Alex Lowes, Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Try to forget bad start to the season Alex Lowes. The Briton ended the weekend with a crash involving Toprak Razgatlioglu, causing him to immediately run into a zero. Certainly not a great start for the Kawasaki rider, but he remembers how much Mandalika sent his ZX-10RR to pain last year.
“Mandalika was our worst track last year, while Phillip Island was our best track,” explains Lowes. “For next week I have only one goal: to have fun, because I think it will be a difficult weekend for us. We have worked very hard to improve our package, but it seems that we are delayed or that all our rivals have jumped ahead. We have work to do. It will be hot and slippery, not the best conditions for us. We will work hard from Friday, have fun and try to get three good results”.
Read also:
