Honda's Jonathan Rea says he is looking forward to seeing how his Fireblade stacks up against the opposition at this weekend's Monza horsepower contest but is well aware of of the first chicane danger that has bitten him in the past.

The young Irishman has been involved in crashes at the too-tight Variante del Rettifilo, a first-gear nightmare after the 200+mph start/finish straight, so will be looking to stay out of trouble in 2012 but with 25 bikes funelling in on lap one, it won't be easy.

“I am now looking forward to the weekend at Monza especially after the win at Assen because that boosted the confidence of everyone in the team. As we all know, Monza is a horsepower contest between the manufacturers so we will see where we stack up. I like the circuit and I enjoy going there. We should have the pace to fight," said Rea.

"Having two races back-to-back now, Monza and then Donington, just means less time at home but to be honest it does not change anything in my approach to the races. We have been moving the bike into new area with balance and wheelbase, so the one drawback seems to be that it affects my feel on the front. For me Monza it is another racetrack to race at and I do not know all the history of the circuit. But it is unique and I get a real thrill of the speed. I love the Italian culture and in general it feels like a second home.

"I always go to the old banked section of the circuit and remember how people used to race around Monza. I’ve been involved in a couple of first turn crashes in the last two years – it’s always difficult funnelling everyone into that tight chicane at the end of the straight.”