'It's tough, I'm not going to lie' says Jonathan Rea after frustrating World Superbike Sunday at Phillip Island

​The Kawasaki rider was unable to build on his excellent runner-up finish in Saturday’s wet opening race of the 2023 season and is already 31 points behind reigning champion Alvaro Bautista, who won all three races on his Aruba.it Ducati for a clean sweep over the weekend.

Rea could only manage seventh in the Superpole sprint race after he was shoved wide on the first lap by series rookie and World Supersport champion Dominique Aegerter (GRT Yamaha).

In the longer 22-lap second race, the 36-year-old felt confident of challenging for fourth place until he suffered from a deterioration in rear tyre grip in the latter stages, eventually finishing eighth.

These were Rea’s worst results at the iconic Australian circuit since he joined Kawasaki in 2015.

The Ulster rider, joint third in the championship with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) after the first round, said he had to shoulder some of the responsibility for Sunday’s lacklustre results along with his Kawasaki Racing Team.

“It’s a bit of a head-scratcher to be honest,” said Rea.

“I don’t think this result reflects the true reality of where we are; I felt like in the off-season, we’ve really improved the bike.

“We have to make sure we don’t suffer too many bad days from now on,” he added.

“It’s tough, I’m not going to lie. When we have grip, we can make the difference – the rider can bite the screen a bit harder and take liberties.

“I have to take some responsibility as well as my crew, as I have directed the set-up this week and it’s clear that we didn’t get it bang on.

“We have to look ourselves as well. I really feel that whilst the competition is strong, the bike is much better than we showed this weekend.”

Rea will have a swift opportunity to make amends as Indonesia hosts round two of the championship at the Mandalika International Street Circuit on the island of Lombok this weekend.