Rea still believes in Kawasaki but “we’re so far off battling for a race win”

While Rea’s pace and consistency was as good as any point so far this season, WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista and Ducati were simply too strong.

A third place finish in Race 1 after losing out to Toprak Razgatlioglu on the final lap set Rea up for a strong Sunday, however, the six-time champion was podium-less after crashing in the Superpole Race and finishing fourth in Race 2. 

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"I think we just need to do great work every weekend, put all the stars in line from a team point of view to battle for the podium," said Rea. "We’re so far off battling for a race win. 

"We know what needs to be done, the team knows what needs to be done but it’s not something we can react to right now. This is our situation. 

"I push the team on a daily basis at the track, at tests but it’s something very frustrating especially when you’re riding with some other bikes on track. It really highlights our difficulties. We’ll never give up. 

"The team are working so hard on what we can control and, of course, with me being competitive, I’ve had quite a few second places this year, but what’s more encouraging was Alex’s great result. 

"It shows that when things are going well, at a track that consumes a lot of tyre, KRT can still be strong."

After starting on the fourth row for Race 2, Rea made early progress and had ideas of challenging Razgatlioglu and teammate Alex Lowes for the podium.

However, the two riders in front of him had similar pace and were able to stay ahead after opening up a gap as Rea struggled to pass Andrea Locatelli for much of the race. 

Rea added: "Starting from P10, I had to be quick in action and gain track position. In doing so, I just used a lot of tyres in the beginning trying to plan my passes; especially on Locatelli. 

"It was quite hard; he was very good in the last sector and onto the home straight. For me, everywhere else, I was just trying to get close enough and then, of course, he dropped his rhythm and I was able to go through. 

"At that stage, Toprak and Alex were just there, and I thought ‘don’t waste anymore and I will arrive at the end’ but the offset of the tyres, they were in the same boat as me but further up the road. 

"They had a really good race. My target was Alex and Toprak and, in the end, I had nothing left for those guys."