Jonathan Rea retains a chance of clinching a top-three finish as the World Superbike Championship reaches a conclusion this weekend in Qatar.

Rea is currently fourth in the series standings, 11 points behind Aprilia’s Marco Melandri ahead of the final two night races under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit on Sunday.

It is the first time the World Superbike Championship has included a night time race and Pata Honda star Rea is confident he can finish the season strongly in what will be his final ride for the Ten Kate squad, with the 27-year-old set to join Tom Sykes at Kawasaki in an exciting line-up for 2015.

“I’m really looking forward to racing in Losail again for a variety of reasons. I’ve done a couple of new model launches there for Honda and I really like the circuit layout; it’ll also be the first time I’ve raced at night,” said Rea.

“I think the visibility will be quite high, especially compared to riding in the dark like I’ve done at Suzuka in the 8 Hours. But I think the biggest challenge is going to be the schedule and working out the best time for food intake and other things in order to perform physically late at night instead of during the day.

“It’s the last round of the championship but the plan is still quite straightforward,” he added. “The CBR has been quite competitive at the last few rounds so we’ll try to get a good base setting again on Friday and aim to finish the season on a high in this desert challenge.”

The championship is set for a gripping finale, with Yorkshireman Sykes only 12 points clear of Aprilia contender Sylvain Guintoli in second position with a maximum of 50 points available on Sunday.

Sykes is bidding to retain the title he won last year for Kawasaki and can’t afford any slip-ups in Qatar with Frenchman Guintoli breathing down his neck.

Meanwhile, Toome’s Eugene Laverty will also be having his final race for the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki team before joining Aspar Honda ahead of his switch to the MotoGP World Championship next year.

Laverty has endured a difficult season on the GSX-R1000, picking up one win in the opening race at Phillip Island in Australia.

The 28-year-old is ninth in the championship standings and will be eager to return to the podium at Losail for the first time since a third place finish at Sepang back in June.

“The final round of the season will be an incredible experience racing under the floodlights. I’ve competed in the dark once already back in 2008 at Losail and I’m really looking forward to doing it again,” said Laverty.

“The floodlights really illuminate the track so it actually allows you to be a little more precise than in daylight hours. The Losail circuit is a flowing one, which suits our bike much better than some of the tight and twisty tracks that we’ve visited lately.

“It’s my last race in the World Superbike Championship before I make the switch to MotoGP and I’d love nothing more than to go out on a high - for me, the Crescent team and all our sponsors.”



Kyle White
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