Ten Kate Honda's Jonathan Rea is hoping that a change to the throttle settings on his Fireblade will kick-start his World Superbike season at Assen this weekend after a slow start to the year.

The Irish youngster tested the new position, and some other developments, at an oval circuit near the team's base in Holland last week and declared himself happy with the results.

"After what’s been a sluggish start to the season, we needed to look at making some changes to the bike to improve the feeling. The guys have found some pretty positive developments back at base and I was able to try them out last week," said Rea.

"The feeling with the throttle is much better now and that was the main area of concern. Assen is a great place, for a number of reasons, and I got my first podium with the team there last year. The circuit should suit the bike better than Valencia anyway, and we’re all in a really positive frame of mind, so I’m really looking forward to the weekend."