Jonathan Rea physically “fine” but struggling in braking on WorldSBK return

The return of Jonathan Rea to the WorldSBK field this weekend has not presented physical issues after two-and-a-half months out with injury, but the Yamaha rider found himself missing the feeling he wanted in braking.

The six-time World Superbike Champion was only 17th-fastest on Friday at Cremona Circuit, but was at least able to draw positive conclusions about his physical condition following the complicated foot injury he suffered in testing at Phillip Island back in mid-February.

“It’s been a difficult day but, firstly, my foot feels fine riding – I had a couple of areas where my foot was in the wrong position and when I ride with my big toe on the foot peg it feels quite painful but generally it’s fine,” Rea said after the first day in Cremona.

“Of course, it’s been a long time off the bike and, physically, I didn’t feel amazing. However, I expected that to an extent and need some race fitness back.”

Rea added that the Yamaha feels different to when he last rode the bike in Australia, the Northern Irish rider riding this weekend for the first time since the Iwata marque introduced its Superconcession chassis at Portimao.

“The R1 is quite different to when I last rode it and we worked through FP1 and FP2 with the same tyre set ups to find the rhythm and still I didn’t feel fully comfortable.

“We made some changes but nothing has really ticked the box yet to let me stop the bike in the way I really want to, so that’s the focus for tonight to give me more confidence to reach the apex.

“We’ll try to make a step tomorrow but – even if it’s really tough – it’s great to be back with the team and re-starting the journey to being fully competitive.”

Locatelli: “We need to improve a bit more”

Rea’s teammate, Andrea Locatelli, was positive about his first day, finishing at the top-placed Yamaha in seventh overall, but felt there was still more potential to extract.

“In the end, it was a good day for me and for sure, we need to improve a bit more – especially on the rhythm to be more at the front during the race,” he said.

“We are still losing a lot in sector three, this is the main problem and we are looking to understand what we need to do for tomorrow to improve this area because in the other parts of the track we are very competitive.

“Today the track was quite difficult and the temperature was high, but in general I am happy: the feeling is good, so looking forward for tomorrow where we will try to make another step.”