Test rider Jonathan Rea 19th in opening practice at Assen World Superbike round as Honda star admits 'biggest target' has changed
Jonathan Rea says his “biggest target” at Assen this weekend is to continue gathering data for the Honda HRC team as he stands in for Jake Dixon at round three of the World Superbike Championship.
The Northern Ireland rider was 19th fastest in the opening free practice session on Friday at the iconic Dutch TT circuit, with team-mate Somkiat Chantra in 22nd.
Italy’s Nicolo Bulega, who has won the first six races in success on the factory Aruba.it Ducati, led the times in FP1 by 0.256s from team-mate Iker Lecuona, with Sam Lowes third quickest on the Marc VDS Ducati.
Rea has won a record 17 races at Assen but the 39-year-old’s priorities are no longer primarily about results in his new role as a test rider for Honda.
The six-time world champion retired from full-time race last year after two challenging seasons as a Yamaha rider following a record-breaking nine-year association with Kawasaki.
“My biggest target is to get info,” Rea said. “I saw that stat on Instagram, 17 wins is mega, especially at one track.
“When I was 20, I signed for the Ten Kate Honda team, and we did a lot of our testing in World Supersport here, so I knew Assen quite well.
“It’s a track that always provides great racing, and there are a few tricks to the trade here. Over the 18-year period, everyone knows those tricks.
“I love the track and the atmosphere. As a rider, I don’t think there’s any better feeling than coming into the last chicane and seeing full grandstands.”
Rea also replaced British rider Dixon, who is still sidelined after fracturing his wrist in a crash during testing at Phillip Island in Australia, at Portimao in Portugal last month, where he secured a best finish of 12th in Race 2.
The Ballyclare man was racing competitively for the first time in five months, but Rea says he feels much better prepared for Assen.
“Assen brings back a lot of nice memories and it’s another opportunity to get more mileage on the bike,” he said.
“I’ve been testing last week. I’m feeling more comfortable and more prepared coming to Assen than I did at Portimao.
“We’ve been trying to find a bike I’m comfortable with and Portimao was an opportunity to take different directions and be more aggressive with set-up ideas.
“This weekend, we can channel this in with a lot more data from Portimao and last week. It’s always nice to have a good result; you go home happier on Sunday.”
Five-time British Supersport champion Jack Kennedy is competing this weekend in the Supersport races as a wildcard for Honda.
Kennedy was 20th in free practice for the Honda World Supersport team.
The first World Superbike race this weekend is scheduled for 14:30 BST on Saturday.
The Superpole race on Sunday is at 10:10 BST with Race 2 at 14:30 BST.