Rea concludes another intense weekend of work, while Chantra remains sidelined through pain.
TT Circuit AssenJonathan Rea completed his second race weekend aboard the CBR1000RR-R, fully focused on gathering valuable information for the technicians. Somkiat Chantra, confined to the garage following Saturday’s FP3 crash, now targets a return at the next round in Hungary.
The Honda HRC team and rider Jonathan Rea have completed the third WorldSBK championship round at the Dutch TT Circuit, placing P17 in the Superpole race and P19 in Race 2. Rea was the only Honda representative on track on Sunday, as Somkiat Chantra was unable to compete after suffering a crash in Saturday’s final practice and sustaining a low back contusion, muscular thigh contusions and hematoma.
The Superpole race got underway in dry conditions, before rain made an appearance mid-way through the action. Eighteenth through the initial stages, Rea’s race was largely uneventful, the rider moving into seventeenth and completing a clean ten-lap sprint despite mixed track conditions in the final phase. Starting to feel more comfortable with the setup of his bike, Rea then prepared for Race 2, ready to make the most of the 21 laps as he continued his work to identify the best direction for the next steps in the bike’s development.
And indeed, for more than half of Race 2, which also ran in dry, albeit quite cold conditions, Rea was able to maintain a good rhythm, battling with the riders in his group, consistently lapping in the mid 1’34s and matching the pace of the mid-field group. Only in the final laps did his pace drop compared to the riders immediately ahead, but it was another clean and error-free race in which he brought the CBR1000RR-R home in nineteenth place, providing the team with more valuable data.
“I actually enjoyed Race 2, or at least the first half of it, because even though I got a bad start, I was able to make some passes and find a good rhythm. It was the fastest I’ve been all weekend, lapping in the mid-1’34s. The pace was good and I felt comfortable. But around lap 11 or 12, I started to struggle with the front tyre. I had a few moments and then found it difficult to turn because I wasn’t loading the tyre in the same way. To be honest, I was kind of in survival mode at the end, which was frustrating because physically I felt good. The guys made some good setup changes right from Free Practice 1 and we worked well to explore some options with the bike. If we had to come back tomorrow, of course we already have more ideas to try in order to be faster at the end of the race. I know the result doesn’t really reflect it, but we made some progress this weekend. Now the weekend is done, I want to wish Somkiat all the best in his recovery, and Jake as well. Hopefully they can be back on board at Balaton.”
“I actually enjoyed Race 2, or at least the first half of it, because even though I got a bad start, I was able to make some passes and find a good rhythm. It was the fastest I’ve been all weekend, lapping in the mid-1’34s. The pace was good and I felt comfortable. But around lap 11 or 12, I started to struggle with the front tyre. I had a few moments and then found it difficult to turn because I wasn’t loading the tyre in the same way. To be honest, I was kind of in survival mode at the end, which was frustrating because physically I felt good. The guys made some good setup changes right from Free Practice 1 and we worked well to explore some options with the bike. If we had to come back tomorrow, of course we already have more ideas to try in order to be faster at the end of the race. I know the result doesn’t really reflect it, but we made some progress this weekend. Now the weekend is done, I want to wish Somkiat all the best in his recovery, and Jake as well. Hopefully they can be back on board at Balaton.”
“I’m so sorry for the team that I couldn’t race this weekend. In FP3 I had a crash and the bike hit my right leg. It hurts a lot, and so I couldn’t ride in this condition. But I want to thank everyone for their support. I will try to recover fast and be back for Balaton.”
“I’m so sorry for the team that I couldn’t race this weekend. In FP3 I had a crash and the bike hit my right leg. It hurts a lot, and so I couldn’t ride in this condition. But I want to thank everyone for their support. I will try to recover fast and be back for Balaton.”
