Six titles in the Superbike World Championship, many years with Kawasaki in his “comfort zone,” and now, with Yamaha, his adventure in the championship didn’t start well, with Jonathan Rea showing great concern about his performance.
The British rider finished 12th in FP1 (1:30.495s) and 16th in FP2 (1:30.097s) and didn’t have an easy day, he stated: ‘It was a very difficult day […] we had some problems in the morning, probably due to testing. We had difficulty identifying exactly what it is; the bike is very difficult to ride. We’re trying to eliminate the problems and we’re making significant changes to the bike’s setup […]. Something is not right, and it’s not exactly how I imagined the first day of the season would start, but we are where we are, and I have full confidence in the team to find the root of the problem and try to be stronger tomorrow,’ said the new recruit of Pata Prometeon Yamaha, who didn’t hide the need to see something happen, adding:
– We’re working as a team through the items, trying to solve the problems. At the moment, it’s unacceptable. Something is not right, and we have to find the problem. I’ve been told that I can’t talk much, but it’s frustrating for me because I would love to tell the whole story… it was a difficult day, one of the toughest. I fully believe in the guys that we can do it, but it wasn’t how I dreamed of starting the world championship.
And he concluded: ‘We’re really at a disadvantage; I knew that when time was running out, I had to register a lap. Maybe they were the three most complicated laps I’ve ever done! Even with the problem, I’m not riding the R1 in the best way, but I need to have the bike close enough to me to exploit my strengths. We have to find the problem, otherwise, it’s going to be the toughest race of my life.’
