The presence of Gino Rea in the paddock of the Portuguese Grand Prix MotoGP had already relieved and pleased the world of motorcycle racing, but it was in fact only a prelude...
Very seriously injured last July during the official tests for the 8 Hours of Suzuka, to the point that we really feared for his life, the teammate of Mike Di Meglio et Josh Hook then began a very long and painful convalescence which, 8 and a half months later, however, allowed him for the first time to get back behind the handlebars of a Honda.
This took place last Saturday with a CBR1000RR-R on the Cartagena circuit, a track that the British rider knows by heart having trained there many times during previous winters.
Gino Rea : " WOW! Knee to the ground, elbow to the ground ✔️ What an incredible day and what an incredible feeling to be back on a real motorcycle! I can't believe this has already happened 🫠 Thank you so much to everyone who helped and participated today 🙏 Many thanks to @sundbyracing for a fantastic trackday, so relaxed and controlled 👌🏼 »
The FCC TSR Honda France rider will obviously not be at the start of the 24 Heures Motos but will take an emotional parade lap at Le Mans next week. And who knows: His will and determination have already impressed the world of speed, so why not see him again in Endurance in a few months? In any case, the Briton believes in it, as he declared in a very long interview on FIMEWC.com.
“I want to be back at the same general level as before and for me that means being back at the front and trying to win races in EWC again. The EWC is a championship that I love and where I think I found my bearings. Throughout my career I've been happy to be in a championship if I was competitive there, and I've been competitive in most of them, but in EWC I found a bit of a house and I found a house with Honda and that's the situation I would like to find myself in. I'm optimistic about this plan, it just takes time to get there. But, ultimately, I think that time is coming very soon because my progress has probably been better than many people thought. Even the medical staff expected it to take longer. I tried out my motocross bike and went to a track day on a Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade and it was a little surprise to me and other people around me. It's difficult to give an exact time but I'm looking forward to more training days to get more sensations. »
