Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea is ‘satisfied’ with his race-pace after the two World Superbike free practice sessions at Assen. The Isle of Man resident sits in a provisional front row after lapping a 1’35.880.
He was the quickest rider in the morning session but was just pipped to the post by Ducati’s Davide Giugliano in the second free practice. Rea is not completely happy with his Honda and his crew are working on the front-end feeling of the bike and also on the engine braking.
“It’s been a dry, sunny afternoon at Assen, which we needed because the forecast is saying the weather is going to be changeable over the weekend, so it’s good to get some dry laps under our belts,” said Rea.
"The CBR has moved on a lot since last season and we arrived here with a set-up from Aragon; but I suffered a bit from a lack of front-end feeling and the bike felt quite foreign.
“We’ll go back to more of a front set-up from last year’s race which I was quite comfortable with. On the engine brake side we still need to make some progress because in the later stages of my runs I was getting pushed into the corners a bit.
"We’ll check the data tonight to see if that’s coming from the electronics or the chassis but for day one I think we can be quite satisfied. We’re on the pace but we can still improve the bike.
“I hope the weather conditions stay stable for the weekend, as much for the fans as for us. We’re expecting a lot of home support for the Pata Honda team so we’ll aim for the front row tomorrow, while working on a good race set-up.”
