Reigning WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea was far from resting on his laurels as he set about a one day test with his KRT squad in Portugal on Friday.
Putting both his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR and the resurfaced Autódromo Internacional do Algarve through their paces, Rea came away confident of the steps made and back with a smile on his face as he heads into the busy second half of the season.
“It has been a very positive test,” Rea confirmed. “We did a lot of laps and the track was consistent. There was not so much rubber down initially but step-by-step the track surface went in a really good way.
“We managed to do a long run with race tyres and we also worked on different geometries. We fine-tuned the set-up of the bike for the Portimao race weekend when it comes around. The new surface is great and I really enjoyed riding on it. I felt at one with the bike and I also felt like my riding was a little bit better at this test.
“I think I have a bike set-up now that I am happy with, that I enjoy. I was riding with a smile on my face and giving good feedback to the engineers. Massive thanks to the crew and management of the team for making this big effort to test.”
“The track was hot in the afternoon and the temperature got up to 45-48°C. That was important for us because the next few races should be held under hot conditions,” Pere Riba, Rea’s crew chief added.
“I was hoping for these kind of conditions here in Portimao and we got them. After the two recent rounds in Most and Navarra, new tracks for us and a little bit different from the ones we are used to, we collected some good information, but also had some difficulties. Mainly in terms of balance and engine management - which are always linked together. We collected good information at this one day test and Johnny was talking quite deeply with the bike.
“We tried a few different things to understand the next couple of races and have the best base to start from. We also tried a couple of new items to collect information for the future. We had no issues, understood the points we wanted to and now we are looking forward to go to Magny-Cours.”
