Jonathan Rea is undoubtedly in the rhythm for this upcoming WSBK season who left Portimao and his tests. With a time below 1'40 per lap, a challenge for a motorcycle from the series on this track, the six-time world champion confirms that he will stand in front of his 10-year junior and Yamaha official, Toprak Razgatlioglu. But if you listen to him carefully, there is also a certain dissatisfaction in his assessment and a vagueness about his future at Kawasaki…
Jonathan Rhea could only be positive coming out of his tests in Portimao in view of the times displayed on the time sheet: “ we had some ideas for the development of the bike and we brought these elements together. We were able to take advantage of the performance of the new tires and we also went in the desired direction with the chassis setup. We were able to prove that we were already very competitive » commented the Northern Irishman who also mentions: “ I was very relaxed and didn't make any mistakes. Driving in less than 1'40 in Portimao is really super fast! ».
Jonathan Rea: “ my contract expires this year and the marriages are done in two«
Certainly, but after this heat, there is also this cold read on GP One : " engine power remained the same as last year. Yamaha and Ducati are the benchmark. This year will be a different challenge than last year, but still similar. It will be interesting to see the values during the race weekend, given that we will have super competitive Ducati and Yamaha, as well as Honda and BMW. My team and I work hard. There is great pressure and motivation within the group to extract the maximum potential from the bike ».
Then he finishes: “ I'm thinking about this season and we'll see what happens. In fact, my contract expires this year and the weddings are in two. So far the one with Kawasaki has been a perfect match. I feel good in this group, there are excellent relationships, I just need a Kawasaki that takes me a step forward ". The pressure is on...
WSBK Tests Portimao: times
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR), Yamaha, 1:39.616
2. Jonathan Rea (GB), Kawasaki, 1:39.851
3. Alvaro Bautista (E), Ducati, 1:40.055
4. Alex Lowes (GB), Kawasaki, 1:40.335
5 Andrea Locatelli (I), Yamaha, 1:40.674
6 Philipp Öttl (D), Ducati, 1:41.061
7 Michael Rinaldi (I), Ducati, 1:41.143
8 Christophe Ponsson (F), Yamaha, 1:42.374
9 Luca Bernardi (I), Ducati, 1:42.961
