Jonathan Rea hungry for more after Assen turnaround: “It’s clear we need to make a step”

Jonathan Rea was back fighting at the sharp end of WorldSBK after claiming a first pole position with Yamaha.

Although Rea was unable to turn that into a podium, it was clear that the pace shown by the six-time world champion was better than Phillip Island and Barcelona. 

• Toprak Razgatlioglu on Assen comeback win: 'Nine positions is not a problem' 
• Alex Lowes on crash with Jonathan Rea: ‘Nothing to do with him, it was a mistake on my part’

Upbeat about the level of performance shown, Rea said: “I think, before we talk about the end of the weekend, I think it’s been my best weekend to date with Yamaha.

“We have to take the positives and slowly but surely I’m understanding the bike and how to take profit from the Yamaha R1.

“I also never rode the bike in the wet so that Superpole session was good to get accustomed to. All weekend it hasn’t been the best conditions to prepare for the race.

“We didn’t understand tyre choices from the start because we never managed any laps. We just stuck our finger in the wind and with experience and instinct made tyre choices.

“Unfortunately, in Race 2 I should have potentially gone with the SCX rear tyre. But I was just very nervous about the air temperature and the track.

“I never used the tyre all weekend. It seemed like it was a real gamble for me. I thought I could be fast with the [SC] 0, but I really struggled on the edge of the tyre to get that first acceleration off the corner.

“By myself I could be there but I was offf the group. I lost the tow to Iannone.”

After two top six finishes in Race 1 and the Superpole Race, Rea’s hopes of another good result ended early after being wiped out by Alex Lowes in Race 2.

Rea, who was already losing touch with the lead group of six riders, was passed by his former team-mate into turn one, before Lowes lost the front-end of his Kawasaki machine.

Speaking about the incident, Rea said: “Alex tried to make a pass in turn one. He stuck the pass to be fair, but unfortunately for him he tucked the front right on the apex and I was just right there so his bike collected mine, and down I went.

“Frustrated, because you don’t need to be kicked when you’re down.

“It feels like we’ve said [before] that it’s hard to catch a break, but we really can take some positives from the weekend and hopefully improve with a couple of tests coming up.

“There’s a lot of time for myself to absorb this and try to move forward, but also for the team and Yamaha. It’s clear that we need to take a step.

“But it’s encouraging that Loka and Remy [Gardner] had such a positive race.