World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea 'in a good place' ahead of Catalunya test

The Kawasaki rider stayed in Misano following a two-day test at the Italian circuit last month and has used the intervening period to catch up with old friends and continue training ahead of the resumption of the championship at Jerez in Spain at the end of July.

Rea said: “I have been enjoying ‘van life’ and I stayed out in Misano after the test. I have been pretty much cycling around Italy with Fabien Foret and my mate Gaz for a good few days, in the campground I often stay at in Misano while observing social distancing. I have been cycling a lot, basically smashing the pedals.

“I also stopped off at Andrew Pitt’s place in Lucca. He is an old team-mate of mine and when he retired I ended up staying at his place for a couple of months a few years ago. It was good to be able to hit the roads on the bicycle that I used to ride there in the Tuscan hills.

“At Fabien’s we also did a bit of riding with Regis Laconi – even though we cycled at the correct distance from each other he definitely knows how to pedal a bicycle, I will tell you that much! So I have been full gas training since Misano,” added Rea, who said the enforced lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic allowed him to focus on specific aspects of his training programme.

“Thinking about lockdown as an athlete, it was a strange period. We did not know when we would ride the race bike again so having no fixed date I was just trying to brush up with things I have struggled with in the past, like flexibility, and try to drop a couple of kilos safely, which I managed to do.

“I feel in a really good place and I am just trying to take my foot off the gas a little bit now because it is coming up to crunch time. We will go to Montmeló for testing now. It is super-fast and flowing and really suits my natural style,” said Rea.

“We got an afternoon there at the start of the season to do our team video shoot and I enjoyed the place. Now we will get to ride the track with all our main competitors. We were right in the mix testing at Misano, as far as lap time and consistency goes. I started feeling good with the bike again and I left there feeling great.

“Feeling comfortable with the bike before we go to Jerez for the race weekend will be the most important thing.”

The two-day test at Catalunya in Montmelo, which is a stone’s throw from the Kawasaki Racing Team’s headquarters in Granollers near Barcelona, will feature many of Rea’s chief rivals.

The Northern Ireland man is currently fourth in the standings after the first round successfully took place at Phillip Island in Australia at the beginning of March.

His KRT team-mate, Alex Lowes, leads the championship by 12 points from Aruba.it Ducati’s Scott Redding.

Catalunya has hosted MotoGP races for many years but the popular venue will finally make its debut on the World Superbike calendar in 2020 from September 18-20.

Strict protocols will remain in place for the Catalunya test this week to guard against the transmission of coronavirus.

This will be the final full track test for Rea before the season recommences in anger at Jerez from July 31-August 2.