Jonathan Rea confesses, ‘I truly love’ the Yamaha R1 despite enduring a disappointing start to his 2024 WorldSBK campaign.
Jonathan Rea had to endure six races before securing his first points of the 2024 WorldSBK campaign, facing another challenging round at Catalunya.
The six-time Superbike champion experienced one of his toughest weekends ever at Phillip Island, leaving the Australian round without any points and perplexed by the lack of performance displayed.
Catalunya showed improvement, yet Rea’s performance was still below expectations.
In Race 1, Rea faced early retirement on lap one due to a clutch issue, followed by a 13th place finish in the Superpole Race.
However, Race 2 saw a notable improvement as Rea swiftly climbed up the ranks and effectively managed his tire wear.
Ending the weekend with an eighth-place finish, Rea aims to capitalize on this momentum at the upcoming round in Assen, a track where he excels.
Reflecting on his progress at Catalunya, Rea commented, “I truly love the bike, its character, and the incredible engine. However, achieving top speed on this bike is quite challenging.
“The rate of development and improvement has been disappointingly slow, much slower than expected and necessary for making strides forward.”
“We need to have faith in the process and believe that we can enhance it.
“It would be far worse if I arrived here claiming that everything is flawless, the bike is impeccable, etc. No; there is ample room for improvement, both in my comprehension of the bike and the team’s assistance in tailoring it to my needs.
“This is why I’m not excessively disheartened by our current position; patience is key.
“We’ve encountered numerous peculiar occurrences this year; perhaps the first test was the most straightforward!”
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