WSBK Assen J3, Jonathan Rea loses big: “I lost the front, I don’t know how, we will have to check the data”

Jonathan Rea hoped during this weekend at Assen to relaunch this poorly started WSBK season with a Kawasaki that we had rarely seen so far behind. The Batavian route should have been an opportunity for this ambitious undertaking against an imperial Alvaro Bautista on his Ducati, since it has often brought great satisfaction to the six-time winner of the category. A good relationship which was verified during the first two days before turning sour on this Sunday afternoon. Race 2 actually ended with a fall which further worsened his situation in the general classification…

« It's a shame the weekend ended like this, because we had a lot of positives to take away " begin Jonathan Rhea about his meetingAssen, which marked the third of twelve stages of this championship reserved for motorcycles from the series. “ I lost contact with Toprak at the start of the race, but when I came back I had a little stall coming out of the last corner and he came back into turn 1 » he says, thus setting up the scenario of his fall.

Jonathan Rea: “ a podium can feel like a victory right now in KRT »

« From there it was difficult, because with Alvaro in front he was able to widen the gap in the fast sections and I had to grit my teeth and close the gap between turn 6 and turn 8. With Toprak in the middle, he was between my pace and Alvaro's, so I wasn't able to regain the advantage. Anyway, I was there and I was more comfortable than yesterday he continues.

Then comes the fatal outcome: “ going into turn 9 I lost the front, I don't know how, we'll have to check the data ", Explain Sale. “ Maybe I put pressure on the selector… This happened throughout the weekend actually, but this time, in turn 9, as soon as I opened the throttle and engaged third gear, it was enough to cut the engine, lose grip and fall ". He finishes : " I didn't feel like I was doing too much, or else it's because of my big clumsy feet or mechanics ».

During the first race, the driver Kawasaki had fought for victory and led the first eight laps before being overtaken by Baptist. He then managed the gap with Razgatlioglu to secure second place and his first podium of the season in the dry. “ I'm frustrated, but there are more positives than negatives to take away from this weekend ».

He specifies : " It's been a tough start to the year, but I feel like we're competitive. We can hope to fight for the podium every weekend. This weekend I felt more comfortable and didn't feel like the mistake was due to that ". And he concludes: “ It's a long season, we have to take the small positives and sometimes a podium can feel like a victory at the moment in KRT. We need to internalize this feeling and be happy with the work accomplished, but there is still work to be done. We're going to roll up our sleeves for Barcelona! ».

WSBK Assen Race 2: classification

Championship: