Reigning and five-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea is gearing up for the final test before the 2020 season resumes at Jerez in three weeks’ time.

The works Kawasaki rider, with team-mate Alex Lowes, will roll down pitlane at Catalunya tomorrow for the first day of two test days to fine-tune the ZX-10RR before competition begins again.

“I feel in really good place and I am just trying to take my foot off the gas a little bit now because it is coming up to crunch time,” said Rea.

“We will go to Montmeló for testing now. It is super-fast and flowing and really suits my natural style. We got an afternoon there at the start of the season to do our team video shoot and I enjoyed the place. Now we will get to ride the track with all our main competitors.

“We were right in the mix testing at Misano, as far as lap time and consistency goes. I started feeling good with the bike again and I left there feeling great. Feeling comfortable with the bike before we go to Jerez for the race weekend will be the most important thing.”

Lockdown has been interesting for the Irishman, who has been spending time with his riding coach Fabien Foret in between tests.

“I have been enjoying ‘van life’ and I stayed out in Misano after the test. I have been pretty much cycling around Italy with Fabien Foret and my mate Gaz for a good few days, in the campground I often stay at in Misano while observing social distancing.

“I have been cycling a lot, basically smashing the pedals. I also stopped off at Andrew Pitt’s place in Lucca. He is an old team-mate of mine and when he retired I ended up staying at his place for a couple of months a few years ago. It was good to be able to hit the roads on the bicycle that I used to ride there in the Tuscan hills.

“At Fabien’s we also did a bit of riding with Regis Laconi – even though we cycled at the correct distance from each other he definitely knows how to pedal a bicycle, I will tell you that much. So I have been full gas training since Misano.

“Thinking about Lockdown as an athlete, it was a strange period. We did not know when we would ride the racebike again so having no fixed date I was just trying to brush up with things I have struggled with in the past, like flexibility, and try to drop a couple of kilos safely, which managed to do.”