Jonathan Rea “confident and ready” ahead of World Superbike return at Cremona

Jonathan Rea is set to return to racing at this weekend’s WorldSBK Italian Round at Cremona Circuit on 2–4 May, the Northern Irish rider saying he’s “super-excited” to be coming back after several months on the sidelines through injury.

Rea crashed during the final World Superbike preseason test of the year at Phillip Island back in mid-February, suffering multiple fractures in his left foot.

Rea says the injury was “a lot more serious than first expected,” but after more than two months he is now only a few days away making his return.

“I’m super excited to come back in Cremona after the injury sustained in Phillip Island,” Rea said ahead of this weekend’s Italian Round.

“It feels like a really long couple of months, but in the last three-to-four weeks I’ve maximised regaining strength and function of my left foot. The injury was a lot more serious than first expected and I just want to thank everybody that was behind me to get back on track, especially the fans and all the messages of encouragement.”

Rea added that, despite the time out and his absence from Cremona last year, he feels ready to make his return.

“I feel confident and ready – Cremona is a track that I haven’t raced at before but I was able to spin a few laps in testing last season.

“I’m just so happy to be back with my team and riding my Yamaha R1. Since I’ve been away the team has made some great improvements and achieved fantastic results with Locatelli including his first win in Assen, so I’m really motivated to start – to understand what my level is and work from there.

“Can’t wait to see everybody, looking forward to riding again with a smile on my face and trying to have a good weekend in Cremona.”

Rea’s return is also a boost for the Pata Yamaha team, a squad in a strong moment after Andrea Locatelli’s maiden victory at Assen two weeks ago.

“Jonathan [Rea] will be back with us after putting so much commitment into his recovery from a really nasty injury,” added Pata Yamaha Team Principal Paul Denning.

“He’s demonstrated how badly he still wants to race and to compete to win, so this is a good sign for the rest of the season.

“Cremona isn’t the easiest track to come back at, and we need to treat this as a first step back on the road to competitiveness for JR, but we are looking forward to giving both him and Loka everything they need to maximise their potential.”