In Superpole qualifying on Saturday morning Rea was classified sixth, despite a late fall, with Lowes a disappointed 13th. Rea started the race from the second row but Lowes was promoted to start from the fourth row in 12th place, after late penalties were applied to other riders.
At the beginning of the opening WorldSBK race at the 4.212km long Czech circuit the track was so wet that none of the WorldSBK riders opted for slicks and some even went for full wet options. Rea and Lowes both chose Intermediate tyres - which feature some grooves but are not heavily treaded rain tyres. Their decisions were vindicated as the track started to dry out and offer up its best grip as the race went on.
Rea was fifth after lap one but passed early leader Bassani on lap six. He first extending his lead and then defended it with a cool head as Toprak Razgatlioglu closed in on him near the end.
Jonathan still had a handsome margin of victory of 4.007 seconds at the flag, after 22-laps of determination and concentration. This was his 119th WorldSBK race win.
Lowes lost places in the tricky conditions of the first lap, with the positions changing frequently depending on which riders had opted for full wet tyres or, like Lowes, Intermediates front and rear.
As the race settled down Lowes moved forward and scored good championship points as he rode with strong pace on what he knew was the right tyre choice for all 22-laps.
On Sunday the Superpole Race (over the traditional ten laps) and then a full-distance Race Two will wrap-up the competitive action at Most before the beginning of a long summer break.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “I don’t have much experience with Intermediate tyres because we never really use them. So it was a case for me of trying to ride to the conditions at the beginning to get a feeling for the Intermediates. I just wanted to get my knee down to feel some sensation. I had a lot of spinning but I realised that rain wasn’t going to come on heavily again so I just convinced myself that if I could put temperature into the tyres and go fast, it would be OK. If you go slow the tyre doesn’t heat up and it doesn’t work. So I tried to really push the tyres in the first laps. I was surprised that I could ride with Bautista and Vierge at the beginning, as they were running full wets, but Bassani was gone out front! So I thought ‘patience, I have the right tyre choice today, the race is coming.’ So when I got the leading track position, and my gap to second was more than ten seconds, it was a case of doing nothing stupid. We set up the bike a bit softer for the wet conditions at the beginning, so towards the end of the race, in the drier conditions, it was a little bit too soft. It is always a nice feeling to be the first guy coming out of the last corner to see the chequered flag. I saw all my mechanics on the pit wall, which was a really good feeling.”
Alex Lowes, stated: “Well done to the team and Jonathan. It is a great victory for all the squad as they have been working hard. Congratulations to them. For me it was a tough race, because the start wasn’t great and I had some slides from the front, initially. I lost so much time in the first three or four laps, battling, being off line, and when you are in the middle of - lets say chaos - I lost about 15 or 16 seconds in the first three or four laps. After that, if you analyse it, my pace wasn’t too bad. But after four laps, being in 18th position, my race was sort of over. So to come back through and finish inside the top ten, I have to accept the result and try to be a lot better tomorrow. We don’t know what the weather is going to do but we have some things to try if it is dry. If it wet, I am sure we can improve as well. Saturday was not the easiest day for me, but we put some points on the board and we’re looking for a lot stronger Sunday performance.”
Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) scored a championship point for 15th place in Race One, having qualified 20th.
Isaac Vinales (TPR by Vinales Racing Kawasaki) placed 18th in the mixed conditions of Race One. Oliver König (Orelac Racing Movisio Kawasaki) was 20th in his first home race of the weekend.
2023 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics
Jonathan Rea: World Champion 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020
2023: Races 22, Wins 1, Podiums 9, Superpoles 1
Career Race Wins: 119 (104 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 254 (212 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 41 (37 for Kawasaki)
Alex Lowes:
2023: Races: 22, Wins 0, Podiums 1, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 2 (1 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 34 (14 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 1 (0 for Kawasaki)
8 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
6 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)
Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
Total Kawasaki Race Wins: 178 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Podiums: 533 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 106 – second overall
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