Alex Lowes says he is a satisfied with the improvements made to the Kawasaki ZX-10RR over the winter as he prepares to head into the 2024 WorldSBK Championship as the factory outfit’s lead rider.

The Englishman was joined by new Kawasaki Racing Team recruit Alex Bassani as they pulled the wraps off its 2024 WorldSBK contender, showcasing a tweaked livery to mark the start of a new era without Jonathan Rea as its primary contender in almost a decade.

Kawasaki comes into 2024 hoping to take a more positive step towards competitiveness after a troubled 2023 campaign yielded just a single wet weather victory for Rea at Most.

For Lowes - whose single win for KRT came on his debut with the team at Phillip Island back in 2020 - he feels KRT have stepped up to provide him with a more competitive package over a race distance.

“I really like the new colours for 2024, they are a little bit different. Every other year there have been some small changes but this is my favourite one yet. I come into 2024 with a lot of optimism. 

In some ways the bike, the package and the team is the same but I have some different personnel to work with. We have some small upgrades and we have been working very hard in the winter, especially in our weak areas, making the bike easier to manage over race distance. 

I am really happy with the work we have done. Whether it is enough to challenge at the front every week, we will have to wait and see. 

“But I certainly feel that we have made a step forward from last year. I am excited to get going and head to Phillip Island for the final pre-season test and Round One.”