Rea on the podium in Superbike

Last November, Jonathan Rea concluded the 2022 season with three podiums in the final round at Phillip Island. This year, with Australia circuit hosting the opening round, the Kawasaki rider could only manage a top three finish in the first race of the weekend. On a wet track, Rea finished second after completing the first nine laps in the lead. If it wasn't for a shifter problem in the last few kilometres, he could have taken his first win of the season. The next day, the six-time world champion finished seventh in the sprint race and eighth in Race 2. Rea was close to the podium for sixteen laps, but lost four positions in the last six laps.

“It's been a mixed weekend but we have to take positives from it," said the Brit. “We had some unexpected set-up problems. In the Superpole race, Aegerter almost ran me off the track, which compromised my result. And in Race 2 my tyres went off too quickly. In the last few kilometres I couldn't get out of the corners. All which was very frustrating. It's up to us to understand what happened and to put things right before the next round in Indonesia.” Despite these problems, Jonathan Rea left Australia in third place overall with 31 points. For Alex Lowes, the opening round of the championship was even more complicated. The British rider only finished the Superspole race. Fourth in the sprint race on Sunday morning, he fell in Races 1 and 2. The Kawasaki rider finished the Australian event with only six points, which puts him in fifteenth place overall.