Jonathan Rea expecting a “tough weekend, last races confidence-sapping”

Jonathan Rea is expecting his difficult 2024 WorldSBK campaign to potentially continue this weekend at Donington Park.

The six-time world champion is only 14th in the standings after the opening four rounds, in what can only be described as a disastrous start to his time with Yamaha.

Signs of improved form have been there at Assen and Misano however, and Rea is hoping to use home comfort as a way of being more competitive.

Rea said: “Donington’s a good circuit for me; I grew up here, so every time you come through the gate, you feel like you’ve grown up with the marshals, fans from BSB days, so there’s a certain familiarity.

“A lot of family and friends make the trip across the Irish Sea. Hopefully the fans come out in force.

“There’s a lot of strong British riders, so hopefully we can give them something to cheer about on Saturday and Sunday.

“Misano was a really tough weekend, but through tough moments you learn something and makes you feel stronger.

“I feel we can start building a good foundation now after all our learnings. We still need to work on my confidence on the R1, to improve the feeling riding on the limit.”

In terms of what will allow Rea to be more consistent and competitive, trusting his R1 when it comes to the electronics and chassis is a big part of it.

“The trust in the electronics and chassis is really step by step,” said Rea before discussing this weekend.

“Assen was a strange weekend weather-wise for everybody. Donington’s a clean slate. It’s a track I’ve had good history at, the Yamaha R1’s been very strong here in the past.

“I expect it to be a tough weekend, it’s so competitive at the front and we have to walk before we can run.

“The biggest thing I want to work on this weekend is my feeling and confidence, try to build that, because the last races have been confidence-sapping.”