Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea is brimming with confidence ahead of the World Superbike round at Donington Park, especially after his superb double at Imola. So much so the Northern Irishman is keeping similar settings to his bike from the last outing, for the start of the race weekend at the English track. 

Rea will be seeking to extend his stunning run of recent form which has seen the 27-year-old British rider take his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP to podium finishes in five of the last six races. That run of results has given Rea a four-point lead at the top of the championship table, but the Isle of Man resident has been on the Donington podium just once in his World Superbike career. That was a visit to the top step following his victory in race two in 2012.

“It feels awesome coming to my home race leading the championship! It won’t change my approach at all but it’s a great feeling to know that we’ve developed the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP to the point where we’re getting on the podium regularly and challenging for victory,” said Rea.

“I love riding at Donington in front of the true British fans and I had my first road-racing experience there on a Honda CB500. No-one hides the fact that the first part of the circuit makes it one of the best in the world. The last part is a bit of a bus-stop and it means you have to compromise to get a good setting for high-speed changes of direction and stability under braking.

“Our data from last year showed that the settings at Imola and Donington were quite similar, so we’ll start the weekend with something like what we finished with at Imola. And that wasn’t too bad.”