Jonathan Rea "trying to forget" about Alavaro Bautista controversy as Kawasaki rider seeks first World Superbike victory since May

Bautista accused the Northern Ireland rider of making deliberate contact in race three at the previous round at Magny-Cours in France, causing him to crash out.

Rea received a long-lap penalty for irresponsible riding after the incident and went on to finish fifth, while Bautista’s advantage at the top was slashed to 30 points by reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu on the Pata Yamaha, who won the race to secure a double.

Bautista’s Aruba.it Ducati team were also heavily critical of Rea in the aftermath, with technical director Marco Zambenedetti accusing the six-time champion of a “dangerous manoeuvre” and stating that Kawasaki should “concentrate to work inside and give their rider a better package”.

Rea – who prevailed in a hard-fought battle with Bautista to win the title in 2019 – said that while he was keen to move on and focus on his team’s home race at Catalunya, the atmosphere with Bautista and Ducati had “soured”.

“I’ve went to see Alvaro and I sought him out from behind the garages,” said Rea, who is 47 points adrift of Bautista in third in the standings.

“I spoke to him and really offered my apologies. It was the first thing I wanted to do, apologise, because the last thing I ever wanted or intended for anybody – not just Alvaro – was for a rider to go down in a passing manoeuvre.

“But this happened and I had to deal with the consequences and try to move on.

“From my side, nothing will change because I have to fight so hard to be there in this incredible battle right now with two other strong rivals, but of course the atmosphere has soured a little with a lot of things being said in the aftermath, maybe in the heat of the moment,” he added.

“What’s been said has been said, they can’t retract that, but we’re here in Barcelona now, I try to forget about Magny-Cours and focus on the rest of my season.”

Rea’s last win this season was at Estoril in Portugal in May, with Razgatlioglu winning eight of the 12 races held since, and Bautista victorious in the other four.

Nonetheless, despite the widening gap at the top of the championship, Rea remains confident he can turn the tide.

“I think we still have to view each race as an opportunity,” said the 35-year-old.

“There’s 15 races left, five rounds and three races per round, so there’s so much to play for.

“The approach is the same as normal: try and work really good with my team to have a good set-up and manage the races in the best way possible.”

Rea was fifth fastest overall in free practice on Friday, with Team HRC’s Iker Lecuona’s FP1 time putting him top by half-a-second from Ducati’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

Razgatlioglu was third followed by Bautista, who was only 0.040s ahead of Rea.

Race one today takes on Saturday at 13:00 BST after final free practice and Superpole qualifying.

On Sunday, the Superpole race is at 10:00 BST with race two at 13:00 BST.