Jonathan Rea delivers injury update after crashing Yamaha in WSBK testing
Jonathan Rea "lumping around like an old man" after crashing Yamaha at final WSBK preseason test
Jonathan Rea crashed his Yamaha on Tuesday at Phillip Island during World Superbikes testing.
Rea brought out the red flags during the morning session of the final day of preseason testing.
The crash leaves Rea nursing bumps and bruises heading into this weekend’s season-opening round in Australia.
“I’m more or less OK," Rea said.
“What happened was I was just running around the edge of the corner. I had a little slide, nothing too crazy, but I didn’t catch my slide.
“When I backed off the gas, the asphalt grips it threw me up and inside the bike.
“I landed pretty hard on my shoulder, no problems, no injuries. But when I went into the gravel the bike hit me when it was turning so it gave me a bit of a bang in the back of my legs.
“Apart from a bit of swelling, no injuries, the X-rays are all clear, but I have been lumping around like an old man!
“There is a lot of bruising but we have a few days rest before Friday, it should be 100% by the weekend.”
He ended up 15th-fastest on Tuesday after his Turn 11 crash. In FP2 he was among the last riders to go back out on track, and only completed a short stint.
Rea was outside of the top 10 at the time of his crash.
“It has been a difficult day,” he admitted.
“I have been struggling to get super comfortable on the R1 here.
“I feel comfortable on the bike but pushing on the limit, I don’t understand all the limits for the maximum.
“The ultimate pace is fast but the rhythm isn’t too far away.
“Step-by-step just work with the guys to understand how to ride the R1 around here to be more competitive for the weekend.”
Rea left Kawasaki - the team synonymous for his success in WSBK - for a new adventure with Yamaha this season.
But, after watching Toprak Razgatlioglu smash the lap record on Tuesday during testing, Rea might face an uphill struggle on his Yamaha race debut this weekend.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
