Gino Rea’s bid for glory in the opening WorldSSP round at Phillip Island lasted half a lap as he was wiped out by Robin Mulhauser’s errant Honda on the exit of Siberia and couldn’t make the re-start.
Rea hadn’t qualified well on the Go Eleven Kawasaki but a good performance in morning warm-up meant the Londoner was eyeing a podium challenge when disaster struck after just six corners.
"I'm really gutted for Team Go Eleven. We have all worked extremely hard during the practices to develop the bike and this showed by our constant progress. After finishing fifth in the warm up on a used tyre I was confident on challenging for
podium positions,” said Rea.
“Unfortunately I got a really bad start and then Mulhauser highsided in front of me. I collided with his bike and took a big tumble. I'm lucky the outcome wasn't worse but I'm frustrated I put myself in that position with a bad start. We'll be working hard again in Thailand to make up for this weekend."