Rea: “We have started to find some momentum with the bike set-up”

Jonathan Rea believes he could be in the fight for ‘big points’ at this weekend’s Aragon WorldSBK round.

20 Sep 2023

Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki WorldSBK Magny-Cours 2023

The last two rounds have arguably been Rea’s strongest of the season so far, after winning his first race of 2023 in Most and showing similar pace to Toprak Razgatlioglu for one of the first times throughout the 2023 WorldSBK campaign.

And with Aragon up next, a circuit where Rea has enjoyed great amounts of success, the six-time world champion is expecting to be strong once again.

Rea also tested at Aragon during the summer break as he and Kawasaki found a breakthrough regarding the bike set-up.

"Aragon is a really cool track, It’s one that I really enjoy and very challenging for a rider," said Rea. "I have got great memories there from the past and in fact the first ever time I rode the Ninja ZX-10R was in Aragon and I fondly remember the first laps.

"I hope to recreate that feeling where I really enjoyed the bike. We had a test there during the summer break and it was positive. I felt fast and consistent.

"Since the middle part of the season we have started to find some momentum with bike set-up. We have been working well as a team and we have been able to challenge for podiums.

"It is important to be strong but also consistent. We have two race weekends on the bounce now and the target is to maximise our opportunities to fight for podiums and continue scoring big points."

While Rea is hoping to score big, teammate Alex Lowes remains unsure whether he will be in action after suffering a knee injury at Magny-Cours.

Lowes added: "Aragon is a track that I enjoy and we have done quite a bit of testing there, including a few weeks ago.

"It was a positive test and we had good feelings with the bike. I am hoping I am in a position where I can ride and be competitive at Motorland.

"I had an operation on my knee last week, so we do not know yet if I am going to be able to ride. We have not made a final decision yet."