World Superbikes: Jonathan Rea hoping to create 'a little bit of magic' at happy hunting ground Assen

The Ulster rider has not made the start to the 2024 season he would have hoped for after parting company from Kawasaki after nine years.

Rea failed to put any points on the board in his first five races on the Yamaha R1 before finally getting off the mark in the last race of the weekend at Catalunya in Barcelona last month, when he finished eighth.

The 37-year-old is 17th in the standings after two rounds but Assen offers an opportunity for the 119-time race winner to put himself back in the mix.

Rea has won an incredible 17 times at the iconic Dutch TT Circuit and has 25 podiums under his belt.

He made a strong start in free practice on Friday, ending a weather disrupted day one fifth quickest as reigning champion Alvaro Bautista led the way on the Aruba.it Ducati from Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW Motorrad).

“It’s a place where we can make that step but it’s step-by-step progress,” Rea said.

“We have to walk before we can run. It’s not one of these things where we can jump from where we are, relevant to everyone else, to fighting for race wins.

“We need to find a way with myself and the bike and it’s not just a magic set-up, I also have to understand how to ride the Yamaha R1 to exploit all of its strengths.

“Assen is a more normal style of track so we’ll go out and see what we can do. If there’s anywhere where we can start creating a little bit of magic it’ll be here.”

Rea will be gunning for a prominent grid position in qualifying to bolster his prospects after his 13th place at Catalunya hindered his progress.

“What I realised starting from P13 is that it’s so difficult to reach that front group,” Rea said.

“It was really my first normal race with no issues and we banked some points.

“So in a race where I started making some progress I feel we can build some momentum from that.

“Of course, it’s not the position you want to fight for but we had to start somewhere after a lot of disappointment, so I'm looking forward to seeing if Assen can bring us some more fortune.

“Looking at results from previous years it’s a track that suits me, but not just me – also the Yamaha R1 is very strong here also, so let’s see,” he added.

“It’s just a case of trying to find some form and some performance, both from myself and the Yamaha R1.

“We need to keep an eye on the weather and Assen is always one where anything can happen at the beginning of the season from a weather point of view.”

Behind Bautista and Razgatlioglu, Australia’s Remy Gardner was third quickest on the GRT Yamaha ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Motocorsa Racing Ducati).

Rea was next, just under half-a-second down on Bautista’s Friday benchmark.

Race 1 is scheduled for 13:00 BST on Saturday with the Superpole race on Sunday at 10:00 BST and Race 2 at 13:00 BST.