Jonathan Rea dishes out warning: “My best Friday with Yamaha…”

Jonathan Rea was third-fastest in Friday practice at the Most World Superbikes round.

Entering after a podium last week, Rea trailed only Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista on Friday.

Rea said after a best lap of 1'32.033: “We didn’t have any issues today, I was able to go out this morning and really find my feet with the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK here.

“It was probably the best Friday I’ve had with Pata Prometeon Yamaha – we didn’t change the bike very much, we just kept working through the plan and I enjoy riding the track here!

“It was a solid day, we just need to keep working on our long-run pace, as Pirelli have brought a new prototype SC1 rear.

“I did quite a few laps on one option but not so many on the other, so we just need to understand which is best – but we still have some margin to improve.

“For me the target is clear again – I want to keep improving my feeling and be more competitive.

“I’m starting to really understand how the Yamaha R1 works and I’m working hard to exploit its positive points.”

Teammate Andrea Locatelli was three tenths away on the combined timesheets.

He emerged unscathed from a crash at Turn 2.

Locatelli reacted: “It was a strange day!

“We are not so far from the top, so this is a good point – but we just need to understand where we miss something.

“My confidence is not so bad – I was pushing hard today but the feeling was not the best on the front end for this track, and I had a small crash on Turn 2, but we can continue working for tomorrow.

“We are not so far, so with a small step forward we can improve a little bit and we can push for a good result! Let’s see what we can do, I think we can do well in the race.”