Rea: “Wind was so scary, every time I tipped in my balls were in my mouth"

The six-time WorldSBK champion made a bright start to the Dutch round at Assen after finishing second fastest behind Alvaro Bautista in FP1. 

And while his pace was strong throughout the session, which has often been the case during shorter runs, the key to adding to his 16 wins at Assen will be to maintain that sort of performance over race distance.

• Assen World Superbike FP1 Results: Bautista top ahead of Rea 
• Bautista admits decision on WorldSBK future will be made ‘very soon'

On multiple occasions Rea has started a race fighting for the podium before slipping down the order as tyre wear began to factor into the equation. 

Yamaha have also had similar issues but not to the degree that Kawasaki has, whereas Ducati and Bautista have rarely been troubled by tyre degradation. 

Rea’s pace in FP1 was only beaten by Bautista during the closing stages, and after two positive tests in Aragon and Barcelona, it appears as though a breakthrough might have been found, although it’s unclear whether it will be enough to start fighting for wins.

"I have a pretty good track record here, it’s a track I enjoy," said Rea. "I rode for a team based just up the road for many years of my career. I don’t know why I work so well here, it’s also a combination with the bike. 

"I know Kawasaki is very strong here as well. While one eye is on performance, you have to keep an eye on what the weather’s doing. Tough’s a great word. Although we have to try and start from zero and reset, the results have been pretty poor. We can also draw positives from some of the races we’ve had; steps forward we’ve made with the bike. 

"We haven’t put it all together. We’ve had two tests at Aragon and Barcelona to try a different direction with the bike and to focus on our weaknesses. This season, it’s been overstressing the front and the front tyre especially in the latter stages of races. 

"We showed some good speed in Australia and Indonesia. The speed’s not in doubt, it’s about the longevity in the race. 

"I think here at Assen should suit us especially with cooler conditions. It’s a hard situation to be in."

Those were the words from Rea prior to this weekend's action getting underway, but after finishing inside the top three again in FP2, Rea feels as though his ZX-10RR is in a good place although minor changes are needed.

Rea added: "Really solid, we evaluated the tyre options, both front and rear, but I didn’t find a combination that works well with our bike in the end after some trial and error. 

"There are some plusses and minuses to some options so after a compromise, we put the right set together, not fresh but a very old front tyre, but it’s working well. The bike is working well from this morning, it was in line and on rails and actually, we didn’t touch the bike so much today. 

"We just have some electronic things to dial out. In the afternoon, the wind picked up and changed direction a little bit so going through the fast kink on the back straight coming back to the paddock, it was so scary! 

"Every time I tipped in there; my balls were in my mouth! It was good fun, but you don’t want to go down there as you’re going fast. It definitely kept me awake during the session! Hopefully the wind drops a little bit tomorrow and focus on putting a race together."