One of the great incentives that we do not have at this start of the WSBK season is Jonathan Rea. The six -time Superbike champion continues to recover from the complicated injury he suffered at the beginning of the year in Australia. During the tests, the Yamaha pilot went to the ground and although the first part of the fall was not extremely hard, his R1 ended up hitting the leg of the Norirelandés and causing serious injuries, of which he is still in the process of recovery.
After the operation, Rea has already made it clear that he will compete again when he can give 100%, but that point still seems somewhat distant. And as Jonathan himself recognized in Portimao despite the fact that recovery is on the right track, there is still no specific term:
“My recovery is going very well. Last week I took a good step with my physical condition and also mentally. Now I am in a good time. I would say that, for the injury I had, which was much more serious than we expected at the beginning, I go ahead of the expected thing. I am working well at home. Everything we are doing is working well and next week we will talk to the advisor and the medical team to understand the next steps and see when I can compete.”
Asked more expressly in case that possible return could occur in the next round, which will be held in Assen from April 11 to 13, Jonathan Rea said the following, leaving a pearl for memory:
“I have not ruled it completely, but probably goes against what doctors advise. It is a fairly serious injury and it takes time to recover. Assen is soon. We will decide this week. We are going to week. The best possible way, to run again, because I really miss it.
Jonathan Rea is optimistic with the evolution of the Yamaha R1
The fact that Jonathan Rea travels to Portimao to spend the weekend with the team, is already a sample of his commitment. In spite of everything, the Yamaha pilot is aware of the evolution of Yamaha, which this year has “supercncesions” to be able to develop the areas where R1 can suffer more:
“The chassis was an area that we could improve when I first mounted on the motorcycle and now, I am super proud and happy to see that they are working hard with the supercncesions. They are working throughout the motorcycle. I have not tried this configuration, but it looks good and the comments of the other pilots seem good. I do not have many details about it, but I am looking forward to trying when I return.”
Moreover, it is optimistic for what the future holds thanks to those changes that already seem to be paying off, seeing the ascending performance of Locatelli and the podium in Portimao:
“Not only here, I felt that there were reasons to be optimistic even in Phillip Island. Throughout the winter I had the feeling of being in front, rhythm and feeling well with the motorcycle. We had not used the superpole tires yet. I think there are reasons for optimism, but there is still a lot The work is seen from the outside ”.
