Jonathan Rea has assured supporters that he is ‘in one piece’ following a disastrous and pointless maiden WorldSBK weekend as a Yamaha rider, which culminated with a red flag-inducing Race 2 accident.
The Ulsterman reported that his confidence was “shattered” after finishing outside the points in Race 1. The tumultuous week began with a crash during the one-day pre-season test at Phillip Island, which left him nursing sore legs. He then struggled with set-up issues, mostly involving rear chatter.
Rea’s improved performance on Sunday, when he finished just outside the points in 10th place in the Superpole Race, was a result of the changes he made overnight.
After Toprak Razgatlioglu suffered a blow-out in the second race, which caused three riders to break away in reaction, Rea was moving up the field and into fifth place. He dubbed this a “track profit.”
Nevertheless, Rea’s race would only survive one more lap as he lost the rear of his Yamaha at Turn 11, the beginning of the lengthy and swift left-hander that finishes the race.
Rea was stretchered to the medical centre after suffering an impact to his hip, and the race was halted. After being found to have numerous abrasions and contusions, he was eventually released from the hospital.
Rea expressed frustration at his difficult weekend and said he would have to “rebuild from zero” when Round 2 resumes in Spain in May. He felt that his rising confidence had been penalised by the accident he had feared all along.
First and foremost, I’m fine physically aside from a fairly severe hip injury sustained in the incident on Tuesday. This week, I had two significant wrecks, but I survived.
“Very annoyed because I wasn’t expecting the crash. It happened as I was feeling great and gaining confidence while riding a bike. When Toprak’s engine began to malfunction, I profited a little and ended up in a strong position in the race.
“I collapsed as soon as I felt self-assured. All I have to do is start over from scratch, investigate the crash, and work on feeling better about myself.
“Loka’s” level of competition shows you that we are capable of reaching that goal. I want to return home right now, reflect, make a fresh start, and return to Barcelona stronger.