Jonathan Rea aims to build on Magny-Cours lessons at Aragon WorldSBK

Starts and track position will be the key to being competitive at the Aragon WorldSBK (26–28 September) for Jonathan Rea, he says.

A nine-time World Superbike race winner at Aragon, it’s a circuit that Rea is enthusiastic about riding at full fitness this year, having made his return from injury at MotorLand last year following his thumb injury at Magny-Cours.

On this occasion, Rea comes from France with more positivity after fighting inside the top-six in Race 2 there.

“I’m really looking forward to Aragon, it’s a circuit that I enjoy – it’s got great character and a little bit of everything,” Jonathan Rea said.

“From fast-flowing sections, to sections where you really need to stop the bike and then, of course, the long back straight to negotiate. 

“Friday is going to be super important to try to maximise the potential of our Yamaha R1 WorldSBK – and like we proved in Magny-Cours, when we can start well and get track position early, we can be quite competitive. 

“Like always, a lot of emphasis on maximising laps on Friday and working with Superpole in the back of our mind to get the best start position possible.”

Rea and Yamaha will be starting from zero at Aragon this weekend having missed the recent private test there. The Northern Irishman says it will therefore be necessary to have calmness in his approach to the weekend.

“Unfortunately, we missed the test there a few weeks ago, so we will calmly approach the start on Friday. But, it’s important to be fast and we hope to find the flow that we enjoyed in Magny-Cours. 

“Let’s see what the weekend holds! The weather looks like it’s going to be consistent, so we will try to maximise our opportunities in Aragon.”

Locatelli aiming for top-five return

Since the Emilia-Romagna Round at Misano, Andrea Locatelli finished every race in the top-five until Race 1 at Magny-Cours. There, he came from last on the grid after a Superpole crash to finish fifth, but he was unable to overcome this poor grid position on Sunday and went 12-9 in the last two races of the weekend.

The Italian is therefore aiming to reverse the misfortune of Magny-Cours and get himself back inside the top-five this weekend in Aragon.

“The trend for us is to be consistently in the top four or five, especially after testing and a couple of strong weekends like Misano, Donington and Balaton,” said Locatelli.

“I was a bit unlucky starting from the back in Magny-Cours but the speed was there as well. I think we can continue to fight for this top five position, taking important points for the championship in every race – for sure it is a different circuit in Aragon, but I am positive that we can keep working well and that we can have another good weekend.”

About Aragon itself, Locatelli expressed his affection for the circuit.

“I love to ride in Aragon,” he said. “It is an interesting kind of track: fast, flowing, up and down! It is for me one of the most beautiful circuits we have in the calendar. 

“We will try our best and keep working in the right direction until the end of the season because we have the potential, and the opportunity to finish third in the championship is still open. The motivation is high to deliver another strong result.”