Jonathan Rea says stunning Portimao record in World Superbikes 'means nothing' after team change

The Ulster rider made a difficult start to the season with his new team after making the switch from Kawasaki but Rea finally clinched his maiden rostrum on the YZF-R1 at his home round at Donington Park last month, taking third in the Superpole race.

He is currently 10th in the standings and the six-time world champion is eager to keep making progress, with Rea setting himself a target of fighting inside the top five for the remainder of the season.

Rea was sixth fastest in free practice on Friday, 0.627s behind championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW Motorrad), who is bidding to set a new record of consecutive WSBK victories this weekend after making it 10 in a row following a third consecutive treble at Most in the Czech Republic last time out.

Rea and reigning champion Alvaro Bautista jointly hold the record of 11 wins on the trot.

Rea has won a record 13 times at Portimao since the track was added to the calendar for the first time in 2008, but the 37-year-old says he is taking nothing for granted.

In a special format this weekend, the main races will take place in the evening on Saturday and Sunday at 18:00 BST, with the Superpole race on Sunday at the later time of 14:45 BST.

“Portimao’s a happy hunting ground for me, it’s a track I’ve had a lot of success at in the past,” said Rea. “It means nothing sometimes when you change teams.

“The Yamaha’s a different beast around here. It has a lot of positives but also some areas where we need to work on.

“The test was good because we identified those areas and hopefully, we can work on them.

“The bike’s changed since we tested here. We’ve homed in on more of a set-up. It’s a different vibe with the evening race.

“It’s a track that always brings a lot of travelling support from Northern Ireland as well,” added the Ballyclare man.

“The key for my weekends this season has been trying to qualify well and we’ll put a lot of emphasis on that.

“Hopefully we can qualify on those first few rows and make the races a little bit more straightforward.”

Known as the ‘rollercoaster’ because of its undulating characteristics, Portimao is a physical circuit but also one where Rea says the rider can make a difference.

“It’s a physical track but the rider can find that last little bit and I know a bit around here so hopefully I can put it to good use,” he said.

“I’ve always been saying the aim is to, step by step, improve the feeling. That’s still the case.

“I want to battle inside the top five. That’s the next step, to try to be there.

“I felt I had the pace to do that at Most actually, and at Donington I had a strong weekend.

“Regularly we need to be in the top five now. That’s the goal.”