Jonathan Rea confident tide will turn after difficult start to Yamaha World Superbike chapter

The Northern Ireland rider finished eighth in Race 2 at Catalunya in Barcelona on Sunday to score his first points in six races since he made his competitive debut for the Pata Prometeon Yamaha team at Phillip Island in Australia.

Rea is 17th in the championship after the first two rounds with his prospects of challenging for a seventh world crown already appearing to be a forlorn hope, but the 37-year-old is focused on turning his fortunes around with Assen offering a welcome opportunity to show his full potential in April.

Rea has won a record 17 times at the legendary Dutch circuit and will be aiming to take full advantage when he arrives at the ‘Cathedral’ for round three (April 19-21).

“I don’t have that ultimate pace on the bike yet, so still finding my feet, still trying to understand the bike, really pushing the team to give me what I need to be fast,” Rea said. “It’s taking time but I’m sure it will arrive.

“I really believe in the people around me and they’re working so hard, so big credit to them – they deserve this as much as I do.

“We’ll keep with it and not give up. Assen is a happy hunting ground for me so no better place to go next and try to score some points. Of course, the tide has to change and I feel like we had a lot of issues thrown our way.

"We’re dealing with them in a good way as a team, trying to breathe and turn the page, and now hopefully we can do a good job in Assen."

Rea fried his clutch on the grid ahead of the opening race on Saturday in Barcelona after qualifying 13th, forcing him out at the end of the first lap.

He finished 13th in the Superpole race before closing out the weekend with his first points for Yamaha in eighth.

Turkey’s Toprak Razgatlioglu won on Saturday and completed a double with a stunning last-corner pass on Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista in the Superpole race, which allowed Andrea Iannone (Team Go Eleven Ducati) to snatch second.

However, reigning champion Bautista got off the mark with his first victory of the season in Race 2, beating team-mate Nicolo Bulega with Razgatlioglu third.

Rea accepts that he isn’t yet in a position to fight for the rostrum with the Yamaha, but the 119-time race winner isn’t allowing his head to drop.

“You’ve got to take these small wins,” he said. “We’re not fighting for the podium, that’s always the target.

“Sometimes you have the fairy tale and sometimes you don’t and we’ll develop at our pace and we can’t force that wave to come but when it comes, I’m sure we’ll ride it well.

“Last year, you could be a little bit off and fight easily inside the top ten; now if something’s not right or confidence isn’t there – or the stars aren’t aligning – you’re on the struggle bus.

“So we just need to maximise our weekends, try to stay out of trouble. Qualifying is a big thing and I really messed up qualifying, didn’t do a great lap myself, so I have to shoulder some of that."

In the World Supersport Championship, wild card entrant Eugene McManus from Randalstown finished 29th and 28th.