Wet weather thwarts first World Superbike test of 2021 for champion Jonathan Rea

Rea and his Kawasaki Racing team-mate, Alex Lowes, did not take to the track on Wednesday and Thursday following wet weather, with the team opting to cancel the test with no prospect of a truly dry surface.

New rules that limit the number of available private test days in 2021 to a total of ten also contributed to the final decision not to venture out in the wet conditions.

Rea, who won a record sixth straight World Superbike title in 2020 , said: “It is a great shame not to test but the track is not going to be perfect today, so we decided to call it early. The guys can pack up and everyone can go home a little bit earlier.

“With the new regulations in place for limited test days, we need to be clever and use these days when they are most important. Right now we need to confirm some important items in dry conditions, that we already tested at Jerez the end of last season.”

Much of the team’s pre-season evaluation and data-gathering was done at the end of last season, during tests at Jerez and Motorland Aragon in November.

Rea’s team is now looking at the possibility of scheduling another test day at Jerez on January 28.

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