MRW Issue 27

NEWS DESK
2022 IN REVIEW:
Kawasaki World Superbike
One of the defining themes of the
2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World
Championship campaign was the incredible
three-way fight between Jonathan Rea
(Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), title
winner Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing
– Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata
Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK). Despite
his best efforts, Rea finished third in
the Championship while it was also the
position for Kawasaki in the Manufacturers’
Championship, and KRT’s Team Manager,
Guim Roda, looked back on the thrilling
campaign after the Australian Round.
Kawasaki racked up 34 podiums throughout
2022 with riders Rea and teammate Alex
Lowes, but only six wins as Bautista and
Razgatlioglu shared the majority of them.
Rea was able to claim five pole positions
throughout 2022 as he edged closer to
the all-time Tissot Superpole record of 51,
held by the returning Tom Sykes (Kawasaki
Puccetti Racing), as he took third in the
Championship despite incredible fights
against both Bautista and Razgatlioglu.
Reflecting on 2022, Roda outlined where he
hopes to find gains for 2023. He said: “We
struggled a little bit more than the others
when the track surface as not grippy enough
and this happens in summertime with hot
conditions. We need to improve this area
especially. Other than that, of course, engine
power is a thing we should improve so we
have to understand how to cut this gap to
be more competitive, especially compared
to Bautista and his characteristics and ways
to extract the maximum from the Ducati.
Of course, BMW, Honda and Yamaha are
working hard with their bikes. We need to
work hard and react a little bit.”
The fights between the leading three riders in
2023 often led to them being referred to as
the ‘titanic trio’ and on several occasions, the
battle for the win came down to a last-lap
showdown. Meanwhile, Lowes was aiming to
fight for the podium after enjoying an injuryfree
campaign as he took four podiums on
his way to sixth in the Championship; his
joint best for Kawasaki since he joined the
Japanese manufacturer in 2020.