Jonathan Rea on dreadful Race 1 start: "I got sandwiched, almost dead last"

Jonathan Rea's tough 2024 season continued in Race 1 of the Czech WorldSBK round.

After a disappointing qualifying, Rea was almost last following the first few turns after being 'sandwiched'.

Rea, who already crashed in Superpole, Rebounded to secure P10 but it's not the result the six-time champion was hoping for.

Rea said: “Very difficult Race 1, compounded from a bad qualifying – I made a mistake on my first timed lap. 

"I had a good wheel in front and was just fractionally wide on the bumps in Turn 16, had some chatter and just folded the front. 

"Huge kudos to the guys because they turned the bike around in seven minutes and I was back out there to finish the session. 

"I got one lap which was clean enough for P15, better than where we were and I appreciated getting out there, but it still really damaged our changes of a good result after a strong Friday. 

"I made a good start from row five though unfortunately, I got sandwiched at Turn 1 with two riders and after T2 I was almost dead last. 

"So step-by-step, just making good passes – my rhythm in the middle of the race was quite ok, but I struggled with some chatter at the end of the race. 

"We have some good data and now’s the time for the crew to improve the bike, we have a lot of information so hopefully we can make a step for tomorrow. 

"The key will be to do a good Superpole Race to put us in a better grid position for Race 2. 

"P10 for all our work, it was a hard race and tough work coming through, but we have more experience now and we’ll go again tomorrow!”

Andrea Locatelli also had a tough Race 1 although he did make forward progress en route to seventh spot.

The Italian missed out on passing a struggling Nicolo Bulega for P6, as he claimed the starting spot was the cause for him not being able to go with Remy Gardner, who claimed top Yamaha honours with P5.

Locatelli added: “Unfortunately, we finished in P9 in Superpole – we needed a tiny bit more for the second row and this was not the best result for a good start in the race. 

"The starting position was the main problem first of all and I think we need to try tomorrow in the Superpole Race to make a step forward. 

"We were not so far but we missed the opportunity just in the beginning of the race to be fighting with the riders in front. 

"But overall, we got a lot of information – we understand what we are missing and where we miss it, so we can adjust on these points and we have time to make a step forward, then we will see what we can do. 

"In general, I am not so happy because it looks like it is hard to ride the bike and difficult to make a big step, but I believe maybe with a lot of data after Race 1 to have a better opportunity tomorrow to fight, especially in the long race.”