Jonathan Rea: “I’m starting to trust the bike, take liberties with it”

Jonathan Rea has offered an upbeat verdict on how he progressed with the Yamaha ahead of the Misano round.

Rea is back in action in Italy this weekend for the fourth round of the WorldSBK season.

He is hoping to finally kickstart a Yamaha career which has, so far this year, been slow to get going.

Rea has reported a major improvement in his feeling with the R1 after testing at Misano.

“I’ve come here off the back of a good test a few weeks ago,” he said.

“Misano is a happy hunting ground for me; I got my first ever WorldSBK win here in 2009, so many special memories.

“Tomorrow is going to be important to understand our tyre choice for the weekend.

“Pirelli have brought some new tyre options to go through, both front and rear, so we’ll try to put all that information together and create a competitive package for Saturday and Sunday.

“I’ve made some inroads into getting a better feeling. There’s still work to do, which is motivating.

“I’m starting to be able to ride the bike in anger, let’s say; I’m starting to trust the bike, take liberties with it.

“We’re slowly but surely getting there – now we just need some momentum and consistency.

“Misano and Donington, these next two tracks are good spots for us to try and start to build that.

“A podium would be above expectations, but that’s what we’re aiming for right now.

“We’re just focused on trying to have a good Friday and a really solid weekend.”

Rea is a lowly 15th in the WSBK standings after three rounds.