Jonathan Rea in 'survival mode' in Race 2 at Assen as Honda HRC test rider finishes 19th
Jonathan Rea said he was in “survival mode” in the closing stages of the final World Superbike race of the weekend at Assen in the Netherlands.
The Honda HRC rider finished 19th as Nicolo Bulega completed his third consecutive treble in 2026 on the Aruba.it Ducati to extend his championship advantage.
Rea was 17th in the opening race on Saturday and took the same result in the shorter Superpole race on Sunday.
The six-time world champion replaced Jake Dixon in the team this weekend for the third round of the championship as the British rider continues to recover from a fractured wrist sustained in a crash at Phillip Island in Australia during testing.
Rea was Honda’s only rider at Assen after team-mate Somkiat Chantra was deemed unfit to race following a spill in FP3 on Saturday, which left him with ‘contusions and a hematoma on his lower back and thigh’.
Honda test rider Rea said he enjoyed the first part of Race 2 on Sunday and had made progress, even though “the result doesn’t really reflect it”.
“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,” said Rea.
“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 set-up 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,” he added.
“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.”
Italy’s Bulega beat his Aruba.it Ducati team-mate Iker Lecuona by 2.7s with Sam Lowes third on the Marc VDS Racing, as the top three remained unchanged across the three races over the weekend.
Bulega, the title runner-up in 2024 and 2025 to Toprak Razgatlioglu, has a perfect 186 points after the first three rounds with Lecuona on 117, and Lowes in third with 82.
Bulega is on an unbeaten run of 13 race victories in the championship stretching back to last season.
“I’m in a good situation, I have a good mentality now, I know I can be fast in any conditions,” said Bulega.
“When you win 13 in a row, it gives you a lot of motivation for the races to come; it’s been good for my head. The era of Bulega sounds good!
“I think we’re in a good era right now. I can ride my bike well because my team is listening to my feedback, which is allowing us to improve session by session. This is the result of hard work from me, and from Ducati.”
In the World Supersport races, Dublin’s Jack Kennedy was 22nd on Saturday and 21st on Sunday as a wildcard for the Honda Racing team.
The fourth round of the championship at Balaton in Hungary takes place from May 1-3.