Jonathan Rea was in a quietly confident mood following the first major pre-season test ahead of the 2024 WorldSBK Championship, his first since his high profile switch from Kawasaki to Yamaha.

The six-time WorldSBK Champion - statistically the most successful WorldSBK rider of all-time - embarks on a new era for 2024 following his switch to the Iwata marque.

Having now enjoyed several days testing the Yamaha R1 following the end of the 2023 WorldSBK season and during two days of testing at Jerez this week, Rea - who posted the second fastest lap time - feels he now has a good grip on the R1 with the start of the season less than a month away now.

“My feelings with the R1 are really good,” he told the WorldSBK website. “Right from the first time I rode the bike back in November last year, I felt comfortable. I could feel the strengths of the bike and some of the areas we needed to work on. 

“This test was more a case of picking up where we left it last November, trying a lot of test items. I think we struggled to make so much progress on Day 1 because we were trying so many items on some key areas, but last night, when the guys sat down, they were able to go through all the data and really understood the way forward. 

“[On day two] I felt great straight away. We’ve done a lot of positive laps, we’ve learnt a lot, and we’re happy with the progress and the findings we have to move onto Portugal.”

With the Crescent Racing-run team having now revealed its colours for 2024 - complete with more backing from tyre firm PROMETEON - Rea is thankful for the hard work the outfit has been putting in behind the scenes to make him comfortable.

“There’s a clear direction that I like, which is good. Yamaha have been working really hard behind closed doors to move the package forwards and I feel really grateful to be part of that.

"Sometimes it’s hard being a rider because you have to do a lot of laps out there, but you have to be at a very exact rhythm and get really clear and concise feedback. 

“These are hard parts we’ll probably start the year with and become our base setup, so feedback’s important.

"I tried my best to give really accurate information because Portimao will be a track we re-confirm some items, re-test some items but we have to be very clear about the package we’ll go to Australia with.”